Itachi's Vendetta
by Ishvalan
Summary: What if the Uchiha clan had been wiped out by Obito and Madara? Itachi, vowing rescue his little brother from Orochimaru and exact revenge on the perpetrators, trains Naruto, who was gifted a sharingan, to become the best shinobi possible in exchange for helping him on his quest. Takes place immediately after Sasuke leaves from Konoha. NaruIno & ItachixAyame/(surprise).
1. Prologue

Chapter 1

I had just heard the news of the Jinchuuriki's attempt to stop Sasuke from leaving Konoha and its failure. I had expected as much, not because Sasuke was more powerful than Naruto, but because Naruto cared too much to harm Sasuke enough. What I hadn't expected was what Naruto had received after the fact: a sharingan. Immediately curious about these rumors, I made my way to the hospital discreetly. After all, I was supposed to have been killed in the genocide of the Uchiha, making Sasuke think that he was the only survivor of his clan. The only people who knew that I was alive were Kakashi and the late Hokage. After all, I personally helped Kakashi train his sharingan. And now it seemed I may have to train another in the use of the sharingan.

Crickets chirped endlessly on this moonless night, a cool breeze blowing the occasional leaf onto the rooftops. Clouds covered the moon, leaving the illumination only to the streets' lanterns and the bright night stars, perfect to move undetected. Keeping to the more shadowy regions of the roofs, I bounded towards the hospital making sure to never make the slightest of noises, lest I warn any leaf ninja of my presence. Upon reaching the hospital I spotted the only window with its shutters open on the top floor. A small piece of red paper stuck to the top corner, Kakashi's all clear signal. The glass felt strangely warm as I drummed my fingers on the glass ten times, letting Kakashi know it was me. Before I could react the window shot open and an arm tugged me in by the wrist.

"Good, you made it, Itachi," the silver haired ninja whispered. "Listen, I don't think I can train Naruto now that he has _it_. I don't know how, but I think I have a theory, though an unlikely one."

"Continue," I urged the ninja, worried I may run out of time, "You may be right and that could make all the difference in how he should be trained. Besides, the sooner Naruto masters the sharingan, the sooner he can defeat Sasuke and bring him back."

"Well," the ninja replied nervously cracking his knuckles, "I think Sasuke may have given him one of his eyes after knocking him unconscious, replacing that eye with the same one of Naruto."

"And why would you think this? I personally don't believe Sasuke would do that," I countered heavily concerned about my brother. If he did so, he would certainly be more vulnerable and that just didn't sound like him.

Kakashi nodded at this as if he already knew that and considered it. "I have looked at that and weighed it again with what I have been teaching him, which is to open up and become friends, as well as losing his arrogance, implying that those only held him down and prevented him from progressing as quickly." I raised an eyebrow at this because it had never occurred to me that Sasuke would forsake others and isolate himself. That doesn't bode well for the Uchiha especially since it would open doors to a darker side. "However, he had shown improvement, albeit slowly. He started to be kinder to Naruto, Sakura, and even Hinata, the Hyuga clan heiress. I wouldn't put it past Sasuke to regret harming Naruto and giving him a sharingan as a parting gift of sorts, partly to not burn a bridge and partly as an apology."

"Kakashi, while I do agree that Sasuke would give a parting gift to Naruto and may have opened up, it is unlikely for him to do otherwise. But, the best way to know is to wait for Naruto to tell us when-" A noise of someone stirring and I leapt in the shadows casting a B-rank camouflage genjutsu.

"Hmm...where am I?" a groggy voice croaked. _Fuck, N_ _aruto is already conscious, he couldn't have waited_ , I thought, utterly pissed. "Kakashi, what are you doing here?!" the blonde shot up in surprise, wincing at the painful reaction.

The Jounin gave Naruto an eye smile as if nothing had happened. "Just checking up on my injured student is all. You're at the hospital and have been unconcious for a couple days." Kakashi's tone reverted to the somber one, "After the fight with Sasuke we saw you on the ground all beat-up and with a fist-sized hole in your shoulder. The only thing that kept you alive was the Kyuubi."

"And Sasuke? Where is he?" Naruto replied interrupting Kakashi. Clearly the blonde jinchuuriki was more interested in my little brother's well being than his own. _A curious one, isn't he. Stupidly brash, but brave and caring nonetheless_. The silence and deflated look on Kakashi-sensei's face said it all. "He got away and decided to leave, huh? Damn it, I could've stopped him, but I held back. If I didn't then maybe-" Naruto growled, clearly pissed at himself as he dug his nails deep enough into his palm to draw blood.

"Stop it, Naruto. It is not your fault that Sasuke got away. If anything it proves that you are compassionate. Nothing you could've done would have stopped Sasuke from leaving. Even if you beat him, he would just leave again," Kakashi cut in understanding the importance of having Naruto in a stable attitude, lest the Kyuubi tries to resurface. "However, we will go find him, but first I would like to ask you a couple questions. Did you know you have a sharingan? And do you remember how you got it?" Kakashi asked urgently.

"Hmm? You mean the same eyes that you and Sasuke have?" Kakashi nodded. So Naruto wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. "No...Hold on, I think I remember but it is kind of fuzzy. All I remember is looking up and seeing Sasuke put something into my eye. A sharp pain kept stabbing me while he was doing it until he placed the thing where my right eye was." Naruto thought for a quick moment before connecting the dots his face lighting up in surprise. "He removed his right eye and traded it with mine like Obito did with you, Kakashi."

I had to stifle a gasp. No way Sasuke would have done that. It just wasn't in his nature, yet now he decides to gift one of his eyes to a friend he had just defeated? And for what? Clearly I didn't know him too well. I thought back to the times I shared with Sasuke while Naruto and Kakashi take about what happened. I only to started to realize that I wasn't a very good brother to Sasuke. I usually blew him off and didn't necessarily help him that much nor did I always keep my promises either. I guess I had been quite the dick back then, making Sasuke feel pretty crappy though I was trying to push him. If only I had been kind to him and not made him feel insecure and like a reject, I could have prevented this.

"...Naruto, I have someone I would like you to meet. He can help you become much stronger and develop your sharingan," Kakashi said a little louder than before. Great, he was hinting me to come forward and I had no idea what they were saying.

I melted out of the shadows, eyes locked with Naruto's, noticing like Kakashi that the sharingan was permanently in its active state, though not activated. Naruto looked at me in awe at first, seeing my two sharingan clearly understanding that I was an Uchiha. However, as he searched my face and saw the likeness of Sasuke on my face everything clicked. Confusion and anger filled his eyes, understandable since he thought I was dead and that I abandoned Sasuke. "Itachi Uchiha," he mumbled defiant and his face plastered with more than a little anger. "How are you still alive? And why haven't you told Sasuke? He thought you were dead and sought revenge and power because of it. Do you understand the pain he was in?"

"More than you think, Naruto," I replied, stung by his outburst. The kid had a way with words that wrenched your soul. "I witnessed the samething. And I can't just magically appear to Sasuke's side since people were, and still are, hunting me. Do you understand the pain of watching your brother struggle and still be unable to help him or comfort him?" I asked calmly, neither angry nor wanting to escalate the situation.

Naruto's pensive face and the conceding exhale of breath signified that it had the intended effect. "In any case, Itachi, how does the sharingan work. I've seen it in action but don't really understand it."

"All in due time. Rest up tonight and tomorrow we will start your training. Meet me on the hokage monument at 8.00 am sharp. And unlike Kakashi I am always punctual," I instructed with a smile. Naruto seems like an eager and dedicated kid. That I can work with, especially with all his chakra reserves and the Kyuubi. Kakashi shot me a dirty look for the snipe, which I decided to ignore. I didn't see the point in lying.

"Alright! Itachi be ready because I am not going to hold back. I give you my word that I won't let you down," Naruto said a little too loudly, smiling and giving me a thumbs-up.

Okay, maybe he's a little too excited and cocky, but I'll give it a shot. If I heard right, Sasuke left a trail of blood and was dragging his right leg after the fight. Also, once he learns the tricks to the Sharingan and unlocks the Kyuubi's full potential, no one can will be able to stand in his way. He may even be able to beat Madara and if I am correct, if I find Sasuke I'll trade one of my eyes for his for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Almost immediately, Naruto collapsed back to sleep snoring. Clearly the boy needed to rest, but if he wanted to learn how to use the Sharingan quickly I couldn't wait any longer. Before leaving, though, I set Naruto's alarm clock so he'd only have three minutes to dress, prepare himself, and arrive to train. I smiled smugly at this knowing that somehow Naruto would pull it off, one way or another.

"Thank you, Kakashi, for giving me this opportunity. I think it is exactly what I needed and how I plan to restore the Uchiha as well as forgive myself by training the last Uzumaki," I said with a smile.

The white haired ninja nodded and gave an eye-smile. He gave me a friendly hug. "Anything for a friend. Besides I owe you for teaching me the Mangekyō. And, Itachi, make sure to bring out Naruto's full potential without changing his personality too much; basically, make Minato proud of his son." As he said this, he turned to the window an slept into the night.

"I promise I will, Kakashi. Even if I hit a wall I will burst through it," I mumbled with conviction. Time to prepare for Naruto's training.


	2. The Raven and the Fox

**AN: I know I just shafted Kakashi from training Naruto to use the wind chakra, but don't worry, he will still learn the rasenshuriken. Expect it to be awesomer though. And yes, it's mostly from Itachi's perspective. Tell me if you want Itachi to have a love interest (and with whom if so). Also, please review and take the poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers.**

Chapter 2

It took me hours, but finally I did it. The training ground was completely set, complete with tripwires, different chakra seal traps, and so forth. Not only that, but the location just behind the Hokage monument was the perfect training ground, especially when Naruto uses his Rasengan. Not only that, but I had set up several targets, a few shadow clones, and had a strip of chakra paper. Perhaps I could teach Naruto to use his chakra nature. After all, I do have fire, wind, and water, thus it's pretty likely he would have at least one of mine.

I grew impatient, waiting on the fourth hokage's head for Naruto. I should've asked him to come earlier, but so be it. Just one minute before the time I told him to arrive, he materialized in front of me.

"heh, you think that you trick me with those stupid tricks? It would take a lot fucking more to trick me, Itachi," Naruto said with a grin. His eyes, steeled with confidence and excitement, told me everything I needed to know. The blonde shinobi wearing black light combat gear with a large orange stripe on both sides was more than ready.

I returned a smug grin. "Hn, then why are you standing there?" I asked. What an idiot, Iguess Naruto doesn't value caution as much as he should. He was standing right on top of a seal, but I guess he doesn't even know how to activate the Sharingan. Oh well.

Just as I thought this, I activated the seal, transporting me and Naruto in a puff of smoke. Naruto appeared on top of the pressure plate just as kunai shot from the trees around him. As if by instinct, though, Naruto jumped in the air, using chakra to gain an extra four meters to the jump. The kunai slashed his pant leg and boots as the shinobi narrowly escaped, only to trip the next trap. "Fire release: great fireball jutsu" one of the clones shouted, blasting Naruto with a huge stream of orange-yellow flame, engulfing him.

"Fuck, this is bad" I groaned, seeing my only student engulfed in the attack. I may have just barbecued him to death. As the jutsu ended, I couldn't see him, however despite my Sharingan. I stiffened receiving the knowledge from the now dispelled clone. Naruto used a replacement jutsu with a log just before impact, having located the user. Just as soon as the jutsu ended, Naruto stabbed the clone in the leg and chest with two kunai.

"Good job, Naruto," I told him after he reappeared. That was...unexpected. I didn't exactly know what to look for, so thank you." He leapt in front of me from the tree branch with a grin.

"So, what now?"

"I am going to show you how to activate the Sharingan. Use it sparingly as it takes a steady stream of chakra, eventually draining you. Remember, use it wisely. The red eye freaked me out when compared to his left blue eye. It seemed so wierd and unnatural. Naruto's face lit up with excitement, ready to learn the Uchiha skill.

i chuckled at his excitement because he had no idea what it took to awaken it, yet if called upon the proper emotions Naruto may actually utilize it perfectly and quickly. Immediately explaining the process to him, Naruto took some time to think. I told him the best way for him to awaken them is call upon all the feelings of love and protection of others he could muster while sparring with me.

"Come on, Naruto, is that all you've got?" I jeered at Naruto, who was panting with exhaustion. We'd nene sparring for thirty minutes utilizing most of the jutsu at our disposal. I decided to keep the fight fair and utilize only the normal Sharingan. Surprisingly, it took a lot more energy and chakra to avoid Naruto and over come his attacks. The Rasengan and mastery of shadow clone jutsu made him exceptionally formidable, especially when he called upon some of the Kyuubi's power. In addition, his chakra haven't drained that far down, despite the fact of the continued battle. I, on the other hand, had used up a considerable amount of chakra, albeit not using the most powerful or deadly of my jutsu. To say the least, I was impressed. Nevertheless, Naruto still hadn't activated the Sharingan.

"Alright, Itachi, let's see you try to fight this," Naruto spat, angry that he hadn't been able to deliver any major attacks. I could see that if I pushed just a little more the Sharingan would click. Brushing away the blood trickling from the sides of his mouth he uttered, "Multi-shadow clone jutsu" flipping through the signs. Instantly, tens of shadow clones appeared all around the clearing. My Sharingan almost went on overload seeing all the chakra before me, indigo in color due to the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. I can't say I wasn't impressed, the sheer amount of chakra Naruto possessed naturally was very large. "Naruto Barrage" he shouted.

Almost as if on command all the shadow clones flew at me in a formation that blocked my view of the sky. Not only that but they flung kunai and shuriken all towards me. Seeing the movement, however, I leapt to the right mid-throw, chucking my own volley of shuriken at six shadow clones, dispelling them. Only I wasn't fast enough. A few shuriken cut and grazed my legs, a couple kunai even slashing at my chest. My Sharingan couldn't counter this many clones. The formation looked like a wall of chakra except at the edges, thus so, it was hard to counter their moves. Almost as soon as I landed I caught sight of ten clones bull rushing me and two other groups ten strong running from the sides. I jumped in the air last minute.

"Fire release: great fireball jutsu" I shouted blasting all three groups in a wave of flame. Yet another group jumped and as I landed I was forced to release another blast of flame, destroying the clones. Curse you, Naruto, for negating my Sharingan. Or are you only negating it? Did you figure out the Sharingan?

"Fire release: great fireball jutsu!" three Narutos shouted simultaneously. All from behind. The sound was my only warning. I jumped forwards, rotated, and countered, uttering "Water release: Water bullet jutsu", hiding the hand seals in the sleeves of my coat. I unloaded a chunk of chakra into the technique to boost it, taking out the fire, the casters, and several other clones. The ground was pockmarked with craters, scorch marks, mud, and shuriken. Trees lay in ruins and a multitude of at least fifty clones plus Naruto stood before me. All with Sharingan. Shit, I am so screwed if he keeps this up. Almost as if by an answer to my silent prayer of Naruto maxing out, all the clones disappeared.

"Oh crap," Naruto shouted in alarm, presumably due to using most do his reserves of chakra. Or at least he is deciding not to expend too much chakra. Just as I shifted my weight forward, Naruto launched two kunai paper bombs. Seeing the trajectory, I ducked and bullrushed him preparing a counter attack. I reached behind me, grabbing the two chakra blades and channeling wind chakra through them. Confused as to the attack, Naruto charged while creating a Rasengan. I groaned upon realization that I couldn't copy hand signs and the shear amount of chakra it uses. In short, I would be screwed, that is if I wasn't Itachi Uchiha.

"Rasengan" Naruto shouted as the sphere completely formed three meters before collision. Seeing that he planned to charge straight ahead, I feigned to the right before slide tackling Naruto. The blonde boy flew head over heals slamming the blue Rasengan into the ground, it's pulsating rythm transformed into a thunderous eruption sending earth and rock flying halfway across the clearing. Naruto groaned, lifting his scratched and scraped face off the ground as he sprawled over it.

I smirked, somewhat disappointed that he still managed to stand despite the shockwave and blast from his own rasengan, never mind the very low levels of chakra he now possessed. Groaning, the genin pushed himself up, legs shaking and wobbling, almost collapsing on the ground as he windmilled for balance.

"Is that all you got Itachi?" He asked, a hint of defiance penetrating through his pants and groans. The blonde was just standing there, half-hunched over trying to catch his breath, never quite recovering.

"Heh, I see you haven't given up yet. Do you concede? For your sake, I suggest you do, Naruto," I responded cooly and matter-of-factly. Usually it was enough to deter people, but his grin and shaking of his head despite the truth proved otherwise. I guess he likes pushing himself past his limits. If he continued to do so, he would either excel and die trying. I gave him props to that, the ninja who only made it up to my neck and didn't have a fourth of my strength did not give up despite his opponent. With the sharingan, now doubt he could surpass Sasuke; that is if he could get Kurama to cooperate, maybe even surpass the Fourth Hokage, his father.

"Alright then Naruto you lose," I quipped, shushining behind Naruto silently. Naruto could have copied the hand seals, probably because he wouldn't be able to find me. I formed my chakra around the blades, honing them, and striking with the wind-enhanced flaming blades. They cut effortlessly through his combat gear and jacket, cutting an X across his back, singing the immediate proximity of the cuts. The jinchuuriki screamed in pain as his nerves were both slashed, cauterized, and burned. The shinobi collapsed face first and faced planted, unconscious.

* * *

Three hours later

Naruto POV

Groaning groggily, I slowly came to. My eyelids fluttered open to see a green canopy above me, supported large tree trunks and the soft mattress of grass and leaves. I lay on my chest, my face to the right. I tried to get up, but twin streaks of white pain lanced across my back. Muscles cramped, tensing from rips, tears, bruising, and fatigue; two bandages were on my face and I felt a large wrapping across my back; sores from scrapes, cuts, and bruises dotted my skin like a leopard's. 'God, Naruto, why the fuck did you take on Itachi like that. I understand that he is more powerful than me and was holding back by to at most thirty-five percent of his power, but that was too much. The Uchiha was prodigy, you were the last in your class.'

"So you are finally awake Naruto," a calm, steely yet caring baritone voice stated. It must be Itachi. "By the way, nice attacks. I see you were able to copy my great fireball justsu with your sharingan. I am surprised you also copied the wind bullet halfway through the fight and powered the fireball up. I decided to use relatively basic jutsu just to see your chakra type. And it is wind and fire for certain."

The fact the Uchiha actually commented and had calculated all of this was surprising and exciting, it's not every day that the best shinobi in Konoha complements you. "Thank you, Itachi. What about the Rasengan?" I asked eager to know exactly how my favorite and best jutsu was.

"Well first off, Uzumaki, you need to work on your speed and your replacement jutsu. By doing so, you may be able to out maneuver the Sharingan and most shinobi. Not only that, but you can essentially teleport behind your opponent and deliver attacks and jutsu before they can react. That being said, work on your stealth. After accomplishing all these, your Rasengan will be used to it's maximum potential," Itachi commented, his eyes glazing over a little as he remembered the spar in vivid detail, both crushing my ego and bolstering my confidence because I knew Itachi could pull it off. I looked up at the sky watching the clouds as I had done with Shikamaru, attempting to obtain peace within myself. Caerulean blue made up the dome of the sky and white puffy clouds breezed by sluggishly; such a beautiful scene with the warm and not too bright sun, while the birds chirped away. Before I realized it, I faded out into my mindscape.

The sewer and its slightly foul smell greeted me with open arms. And the sealed gate to the Kyuubi's lair lay not ten meters away. "Hey, Kyuubi-"

 **Why are you disturbing my sleep Naruto? And, more importantly, stop calling me that, you're really annoying.** The fox's head appeared from the shadows, seeming groggy and pissed. His read fur and red irised eyes, combined with the immense size was still frightening.

'Then what would you like me to call you?" I responded, putting on a facade of bravery. Thing is, he still scared the crap out of me.

 **Hn, how about Master or Almighty One.** The fox chuckled at this, only confusing me more. Was he joking and already new the answer? And more importantly, does he have a sense of humor that I could use to help become friends with him? **If you really want to know Naruto, call me Kurama. It is my real name and it not only has the best ring, but it's really been awhile since anyone called me that. I would appreciate it if you did, kid.** The fox gave a half smile, showing his teeth and a quasi-hopeful expression that only scared the shit out of me. Had he actually just asked me nicely to use his name? Either he is using this as a tactic to gain my trust in order to free him eventually or just to become friends and have a symbiotic relationship.

'Seriously, Kurama? I am not dreaming that you were just kind to me? Do you want to be-I dunno-friends, maybe?" I asked, somewhat hopeful. If I could maybe Kurama would willingly share chakra without making me turn into a raging monster when I use too much of his chakra.

 **Don't push your luck, kid. I just have a little more respect for you now that Itachi has taken you under his wing. And by doing so, you may become the most powerful jinchuriki yet because as of now you are the weakest and I can't stand for that. And not only that, but you gained a Sharingan, which would make you all the more** **powerful,** Kurama growled not entirely menacing, but reluctant to admit it. He was starting to like me now that I've been making a lot more progress and do not rely on him as much for healing and power. I shifted out of my mindscape as the fox's head disappeared back in the shadows, realizing that there was nothing more to talk about.

"...Naruto," Itachi said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I blinked and looked him in the eyes before remembering the genjutsu Kakashi and Sasuke sometimes talked about when they thought I wasn't looking. "Did you understand anything I said Dobe? For instance, how I will train you?"

I winced at the anger Itachi wore on his face and eyes which non-volitionally shifted into their sharingan three-coma pinwheel. "Umm...no, Itachi," I mustered lamely, feeling Kurama's conscious searing my own.

"I guess I can't really do anything about that, Naruto, after all you do have the kyuubi inside of you." Itchy let out a puff of air in mock defeat, calming down completely.

"Kurama," I murmured from the sheer shock of such emotional control. The raven-haired, palish prodigy looked powerful but in more the way a leopard does than a tiger while his red eyes projected kindness, coldness, and danger simultaneously. His black silk undershirt and kevlar vest was hidden under a loose black cloak adorned by ravens with black-red pants and combat boots. This twenty year-old clearly had every trick up his sleeve plus flair. It only took Itachi a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look to get me to repeat my mistake. "Kurama. The name of the Kyuubi is Kurama. We talked a little. I guess you could say he is not being as angry now that he does;t have to get exhausted to barely keep alive."

Itchy looked at me, silent, for a long two seconds. Suddenly he burst out in a quiet laugh, "So Kurama finally told you his name, eh? I might actually be able to work with the fact that you are becoming less hostile. And by the way, being helpless doesn't exactly help matters when someone is being kept prisoner inside of you. In any case, Naruto, Kurama will surrender more chakra for your use without trying to take control of you and more frequently. In fact, halfway through the spar or more, he was stemming some of his chakra instead of yours, which allowed you to keep going without overtiring," Itachi said with an amused smile.

"No joke, huh," I said, tentatively standing up, feeling the pain on my back resurface though not as sharp. "So, what do we do now, Itachi?"

"First, I am going to do some major taijutsu, speed, and strength training with you along with the learning of genjutsu and a few combat jutsus. In order to do this, you will make ten shadow clones do studying, thirty to learn how to spot and stop genjutsus, thirty to learn and master the windbullet, thirty to learn the phoenix fire, and thirty to learn and master the water-bullet justus. You and I will work on your taijutsu and physical training. Make sure to allow them a good chunk of chakra to complete these task accordingly, meaning the studying shadow clones should have minimal chakra."

"Wait, why would I do that, Itachi?" I asked completely confused. It didn't make sense that by using shadow clones I would master a jutsu.

"Trust me Naruto, you will gain information if you know about it. That is why sometimes you grow quickly in battle and seem to gather skill faster than many others. You are gathering experience subconsciously. This time you will learn it consciously. If you want to bring back Sasuke, you will need to expand every aspect and learn increasingly more difficult jutsus especially with the sharingan," Itachi machingunned at me, exasperated and ready to start my training just after I barely had much time to heal. Besides, I was hungry.

"Alright, where to?" I asked, walking after my new and perplexing sensei, his raven hair flapping in the wind. His eyes were set straight on a far off mountain range.

"Patience, Naruto. Observe, concentrate, calm yourself," Itachi softly stated like a breeze, "and come up with your own answers. Once you learn to do so you will find greater strength in you and your friends."

I nodded, agreeing with this perplexing and powerful Uchiha shinobi, not even daring to doubt him. He did become this powerful and smart on his own. For once in my life, I didn't retort back to my sensei, never mind hunger, thirst, or other discomforts.


	3. Sharingan

**AN: Remember to review please. Also, please take the poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers.**

* * *

Chapter 3 Itachi

"Naruto, start channeling chakra through your Sharingan slowly to activate it. Don't push it or you will screw up your right eye, got it?" I asked, hoping that Naruto won't get too cocky and try to pump the Sharingan and risk to harm his optical nerve in the process. Activating my own sharingan, I saw Naruto do exactly as I said. His chakra flowed up to the brain, into the optical nerve, and pooled into the eye. Steadily, he amped up the chakra input until it was a continuous stream that revealed the sharingan's three tomoes in his eye.

"Perfect, Naruto, now let it keep flowing a little longer and you should be able to maintain it in auto-pilot," I complemented. Naruto seemed to get the hang of the Sharingan quite quickly. It was only a week since he was able to activate the sharingan and he already had amazing control of the chakra flow to his eyes. Few Uchiha could refine control this quickly and it was our kekki-genkai, yet the Uzumaki learns how to control our greatest asset as if he were a prodigy. Then again, he almost defeated a curse-marked Sasuke while holding back without a single sharingan.

"Itachi-sensei, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, shaking me from my pondering mind. I shrugged and told the eager ninja to create one hundred shadow clones. This way, he should easily master the new jutsu I had ready for him. That is if he has the proper elemental releases, of course.

"Nothing. It's nothing you need to be concerned about," I replied dismissing the question, "Sorry about making you use the shadow clones, I wanted to see if you could do that while having a Sharingan active with a bunch of chakra to spare. Dispel them for now and then channel your chakra through this piece of paper." I gave him an approving smile as he took the paper from my hand. Sharingan still active, I channeled a small amount of chakra to the paper. Instantly it dampened, burned, and sliced in half. A strange combination for Naruto, staring at the wind, water, and fire elemental manifestations. I gave him a cocky a grin and motioned him to do the same.

A small breeze and noticeable change in heat lasted for a moment as the paper burned and sliced in half. Perfect, Naruto has both the wind and fire elements. This may work entirely in his favor, since he could amp up any fire or wind attack with wind or fire respectively,' I thought. Naruto looked straight into my sharingan with a grin. His mismatched eyes glinted with pride.

"Looks like you have an affinity with both fire and wind chakra natures, Naruto. It could serve you very well in the future to combine these two as the wind will strengthen your fire chakra abilities. The good thing about it is that I can teach you techniques of both styles easily," I said, eager to begin reaching the blonde. I had an idea for Naruto's Rasengan that could prove to be devastating and destructive beyond belief. With enough wind pumped into flame, Naruto could create flame as hot as a star. That heat would melt or combust almost anything exactly like Amaterasu.

"Naruto, did Kakashi ever talk to you about the different chakra elemental natures?" Naruto's raised eyebrows killed whatever hope I had of quickly having him start with the more complicated elemental Justus without him just copying the ones I know. "Well, basically there are five basic chakra natures: lightning, wind, fire, water, and earth." I took an eternal hour with Naruto's constant questions, but I was able to give him the necessary explanation. If he wanted to get better than Sasuke, he needed to make an elemental version of the Rasengan and finish what the Yondiame started.

The hundreds of Narutos in the clearing clenched their teeth in frustration as they channeled wind chakra into a leaf, trying to hone the chakra and cut the leaf in half. So far they had been able to cut partially through the leaf or cut it diagonally or the cut it the short way. Since they lacked valuable chakra control and finesse, this exercise should help Naruto hone his available power and stamina, especially important with wind chakra which can cut through anything, even "perfect defenses" like Gaara's.

"Urrrrah!" a clone shouted as a chakra cloak began to surround his body. Clearly the frustration was not helping Naruto. If only he was more emotionally stable, then it would be easy but no, Naruto had to take after Kushina. I rolled my eyes as I hit the clone with a gale palm, dispelling it for the twenty-fifth time today.

"Come on, this is impossible Itachi," Naruto complained. The cuts, though more frequent still hadn't achieved the straight cut.

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you. Dispel and create new clones every time you make a good cut before you reach ten minutes. After ten minutes, recycle. You already have ten days worth of practice Naruto just in the past hour." The blonde shinobi was really getting on my nerves. He's had more than enough time to do this already. What the hell is his problem!?

Ignoring me entirely, the sweat-stained Naruto dispelled and re-formed his clones. The anger and frustration that had previously permeated throughout the grass-covered clearing dissipated entirely. Calm determination replaced it, thrumming with chakra as Naruto and his clones focused it into their leaves at the same time. The sheer amount of clones and their combined chakra output was astounding. A whole multitude of blonde-haired ninjas in black-and-orange filled the clearing-the greatest eyesore ever-faint pinpricks of blue light in each of their hands. Using a substitution jutsu, I jumped to the highest supporting branch to see the awesome view. From up above, the multitude of Narutos seemed to focus solely on separating the leaf in half, causing blue-white pinpricks of light to form a galaxy of sorts. And all at once, a thousand of the sharpest blades sung through the air.

My jaw dropped as the thousand figures opened there palms, two thousand half leaves fluttering through the air having been caught by the breeze. In record time, Naruto had accomplished the skill one thousand times in four hours.

"Nice job, fox boy! You finally accomplished something useful," I jeered with a smirk just to see whether Naruto was able to see his own worth and accomplishments on his own.

Naruto sweat-dropped, seemingly embarrassed with himself at the supposed lack of achieving. Instantly, however, his face twisted into a mask more driven than before, ready to learn from what he didn't do. At least he isn't one to give up.

"Naruto, you know I was only kind of serious, right?" I reply trying to boost his ego more. It seemed as if his ego wasn't that large and was quite fragile. I patted the blonde shinobi on the shoulder, activated my Sharingan and started to cast a quick genjutsu on Naruto. A blur of black and orange streaked towards me so fast I had to push off of Naruto to get out of the way of the torpedo that blended in with the setting sun.

"Wind release: Gale palm" I shout copying Naruto's hand signs. Or so I thought that was the jutsu. The three blasts of wind slammed into the shinobi, knocking up dirt and dust. The cloud was too thick to penetrate with sharingan. I grumbled in frustration, palms sweaty from nervousness as I could not track any of Naruto's movements. Branches cracked, rustling leaves, to the right. 'Probably just a squirrel' I thought, pulling out a kunai just in case. The cloud finally dissipated, the sight catching me in the gut. There was no sign of the blonde Genin anywhere.

"shuriken shadow clone jutsu" a voice shouted from that same area. Barely able to react, I used a replacement jutsu with a log, but not before twin streaks of white pain slashed my left side. Landing on the other edge of the clearing, I could see six Naruto clones each with one activated sharingan. Almost as if on instinct, I activated a seal containing a genjutsu I used only for certain occasions. One flash and all of Naruto's clones stopped, staring at the scroll. It was supposed to act on those who cared about their family. The clones dispelled instantly, and a gasp echoed from the quiet training ground. The only question remaining was where the gasp came from.

"No. No. No no no no no no," a desperate voice called from directly in front of me. I camouflaged myself in the shadow of the closest tree, wincing in the constant throbbing pain in my side. It felt as if someone left a semi-heated branding iron on my skin, the pain gaining ever closer to overwhelming. Warm liquid pooled against the skin and began to weigh down my shirt, a crimson stain expanding ever larger.

"Fuck you, Naruto," I winced, unbuttoning the jacket and taking off my shirt. I froze as I laid both eyes on the wound. Two of the cleanest cuts I've ever seen adorned the edge of the bottom left ab on my six-pack, cutting their way to just above the hipbone. The only way Naruto could've done that is by honing wind chakra with the chakra-attuned kunai I gave him. Thankfully they missed, but it would leave a heck of a scar once I closed the wound especially considering the couple centimeters of depth. 'Well, I can't blame him, now, can I? I was being kind of a douchebag.' Wincing at every slight impact or jolt, I silently bounded deeper into the treeline until I found a wide enough branch to heal myself. Summoning a shadow clone, I lay down against the trunk and ordered the clone to apply the Mystical Palm jutsu on the wound. It won't require too much chakra to heal the flesh wounds, but I still had to be careful. 'Naruto will realize soon that I placed a genjutsu, so this should only last a couple minutes. It won't heal completely, but it should be quite minor by the end.' I exhaled and relaxed, closing my eyes and focusing on my inner-self. The world slipped away to a pond that I kneeled upon, looking at the reflections. As usual, bloody kunais, blood, bones, skeletons, weapons, and pockmarks where powerful jutsu had struck littered the bottom of the pond. However, a hopeful blue-white glow seemed to expand ever so slowly in the center that caused the war-scarred bottom to heal over with reeds, flowers, frogs, and koi. 'Interesting, it seems that all the evil deeds and dark parts of my conscience have been disappearing the more time I spend with people like Naruto,' I thought, relieved that I may in fact be able to leave my past behind.

Almost immediately, reality cut through my mindscape as my clone dispelled. Blinking, I sat up gingerly, keeping myself from reacting too quickly and risk re-opening my wound. I had underestimated the amount of chakra that I needed to fully heal myself. The muscle had knitted underneath and the skin had grown over, but there was a little bruising meaning that the wound was sensitive. Sighing, I grabbed my jacket, threw it over myself, and made my way towards the clearing. on guard. When I arrived there, however, I saw the most unexpected sight ever. Naruto was kneeling over something scratched in the dirt. Well, it was more elegant than a scratch and seemed to form something, but it was indistinct from the thirty meter distance between me and the boy. Silently, I stalked over to Naruto, whose hair shone like the golden flame of the sun. The sun was already setting and I needed to get us back to camp.

"Hey Naruto, what's up?" I asked, kneeling across from him to look my student in the eye. Emotion flooded the blue orb, reflecting perfect waves breaking on the shore while his red sharingan revealed a sort of long lost love towards the subject of the picture.

"They were my father and my mother, Itachi," Naruto mumbled, barely loud enough for me hear. In fact the message eluded me when he first spoke. When he asked again, he indicated the picture before him. The familiar face of a young man with yellow hair like Naruto's stared back at me with a big grin, one that I saw when he came with Kushina to my house three months before the Kyuubi was released. The man was the complete opposite of my father around me. He was kind, considerate, funny, outgoing, and eager to converse or have fun. I could never forget the Yellow Flash, Yondiame and hero of Konoha, Minato Namikaze.

"Yes," I whispered, taken aback by Naruto's life like impression of him. He was holding a young woman close to him, loud red hair and a confidence in her eye that could only stand for Kushina. Of course he figured the genjutsu out. The reason it took him forever was that he knew it was one of my memories reflected into a life-like genjutsu. Then he wanted to create a photo-perfect picture on the ground using a genjutsu to show color in order to capture his parents. Naruto nodded, getting up just as the last of the sun set below the horizon.

"Thank you Itachi for replaying the memory. I owe you one," Naruto said patting me on the back. He was about toask something else when the loudest roar echoed around the clearing. I shot up on my feet, alert and ready to face whatever made that noise. "Oh man, Itachi, I'm starved at the moment. Can we go get some Ramen."

I chuckled at my reaction, having forgotten that Kakashi told me about Naruto's insane appetite for Ramen. "Alright, Naruto, but just this once. After tonight you are going to eat a much more healthy diet, okay? That is if you don't want to stunt your physical, mental, and muscle growth." Naruto's eyes bored into mine with absolute hatred at the last part, though it didn't last in the face of the possibility of eating his favorite food. Almost immediately, Naruto shot down the path back to the Leaf Village faster than a torpedo. Not quite ready to reveal who I was, I put in one green contact in the right eye and slipped a red bandanna with ravens over my face. Konoha was not ready to see their supposedly dead prodigy.

"Not you, too, Itachi!" Naruto exclaimed when seeing my covered mouth and nose. The pouting that implied me being similar to Kakashi cracked me up so badly. "There is nothing wrong with your face. Anyway, it's not like you did anything bad."

I eye-smiled to fake my innocence, "You are right Naruto, but people still think I am dead and there are those who want to hunt me down and kill me. I appreciate your concern though. By the way don't go stuffing yourself too much with Ramen tonight. I can only afford so much, Naruto. I _am_ supposed to be dead and the only way to get cash is bounty hunting and doing shady jobs where no one asks questions." As we traveled down the road, Naruto kept pestering me with questions about the past and his family, things that I would have rather never heard about. There was one thing that didn't match up however. Why would Sasuke give Naruto a Sharingan? He didn't seem like the type to do that, since he was so obsessed with power. 'Only one reason remains for Naruto's sharingan,' I thought with a bitter taste in my mouth.

* * *

A few hours later...

It took us a little while, but by the time the moon had fully risen, we had made it atop the Hokage monument. The sight of the small clusters of people walking around on the warm summer night reminded me of the last few months of my life before the fateful night. Every day was the sweetest one I had experienced as my crush had returned the same feelings I had for her. I loved her dearly, yet my family couldn't come to grasp the idea of me loving a girl outside the Uchiha Clan much less a civilian. 'No, instead they had to give me shit every day about it so that even when I was with her towards the end, it never felt right, so I would mess things up. Oh, and then they even had to go play matchmaker.' Pops cracked in the air as I clenched my fists and grit my teeth to keep control of my temper. However, I felt a strange pang in my heart, a longing for something-no, someone-I had not encountered in years. And it was partly the reason I wanted to go to Ichiraku's. She always was kind, understanding, and she was-well, very pretty. Yes, many girls had a crush on me in the Academy and as a Genin and Chunin, but before I met her I had eyes for no one. In reality the only people that could open my heart seemed to be my brother and her, as she saw me as Itachi, not the Uchiha prodigy or anything of the sort, only who I really was.

I didn't notice it at first, but as I reminisced on my love I had begun to quicken my pace from a stroll to a jog and up to a run. I chuckled to myself excited about the prospect of seeing her once more. I had seen her, but only talked to her a couple and she didn't seem to recognize me when we did. Also, two years had passed since the last time I had seen her and this time I had every intention of letting her know who I was. I couldn't help but grin at the prospect, perhaps to full of myself and not considering the proper or most common reaction to such a situation.

In the midst of all this, I had started to drag Naruto towards the Ramen stand as he was confused, shocked, and probably happy at the prospect of my excitement. However, it must be for very different reasons I soon realized as he began rattling off questions about my favorite type of Ramen. I decided to play along with Naruto, better not squander the jiinchuuriki's dreams. "Yes, Naruto, I have frequented Ichiraku's quite a few times. I love the Ramen especially because they balance the meat, broth, noodles, and vegetables quite nicely. In addition, there is this essence of love in the Ramen that is similar to when it is cooked by family or friends, making it all the more enjoyable," I replied to the joyful Naruto, who probably was scheming about what he would order.

"Itachi, why are you so excited anyway and please try not use that smile so much, it kinda freaks me out. You look like a more manly Sasuke that is happy, which is just wrong even creepy," Naruto said, wide-eyed and clearly disturbed. I smirked at that, making Naruto relax a little. 'Good thing he-'. "Hey, wait a minute, the only reason you look like Sasuke would be...Are you crazy, Itachi!? Do you want to be spotted because right now people, one, won't be too hot to see him, and two, think you are dead." The blonde shinobi was unable to keep himself quiet, much to my dismay. Rather, he had dug his heels into the ground, stopping us firmly, and had shouted at half the top of his lungs the news. 'I swear one day he will get himself killed from it, maybe even by my own hands,' I thought.

"Hm, Naruto? Is that you?" a platinum blonde-haired girl said appearing around the corner in front of us. I, by reflex, activated a genjutsu to place a couple scars on my face, make it about as tan as Naruto's and added a short mustache and chin-beard along with a ponytail.

"Oh, hi, Ino. I didn't expect to see you here," Naruto said with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. 'Does he have a crush on her? I thought he had one on Sakura.'

Almost as if triggered by his words, Ino walked up to Naruto with a kind, smiling face which I didn't take as a good sign. Instantly I teleported on the firt floor of the building next to us and watched the scene unfold. Naruto was a little confused when he saw me disappear and almost instantly Ino, seeing her chance, grabbed Naruto in a headlock. "WHY AREN'T YOU IN THE HOSPITAL, DOBE?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND AND WANT TO HURT YOURSELF? YOU HAD HOLE IN YOUR SHOULDER WHEN YOU CAME IN!" Well clearly she cares about him, albeit seeming like an older sister at the moment.

Naruto on the otherhand was competely rattled and his face had started turning blue from the lack of oxygen reaching his brain. As Ino seemed to show no signs of release and Naruto was dangerously close to suffocating I saw no other other option. I appeared next toher and cleared my throat. "Um, Ino-chan, do you mind loosening your grip on Naruto," I stated with a concerned expression.

Ino shrugged and let Naruto go, who instantly collapsed on the ground gasping like a fish letting in air. If Ino was at all disturbed by this, she gave no indication of it. "Who are you, anyway? And how do you know Naruto?" Ino asked suspicious and incredulous, suggesting that she would have remembered me if she has ever seen me. Well there wasn't a big reason to give a complete lie to her.

"Oh, how rude of me, forgive me for not introducing myself first. I go by many names but most people call me Chi. I am Naruto's sensei, taking over from Kakashi to oversee his training. He thinks I can greatly improve Naruto's chakra control and evolve his jutsus. I used to be in the Anbu until a little while back when I retired from my position. Now I just tutor genin, chunin, and some lower level jonin in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu," I ranted politely giving her enough information to chew on. I even had papers saying so. My cover was pretty well constructed and it was all true anyways. Ino raised an eyebrow in an impressed sort of way.

"Hmm, interesting. Well, would you mind training me as well, Chi?" Ino asked after a few moments of silence. She extended a hand and I shook it, telling her that I could begin training her in two days and told her to meet me on The Fourth's head at three in the afternoon for her first lesson. She looked at me and then at Naruto, who had passed-out.

"Um, Ino-chan, do you mind helping him out, please, he got pretty banged up today and seeing that you are his friend and all I think i can trust you to bring him to the hospital. I have an important meeting to attend to," I smiled and winked at her so she got the intended mesage and she rewarded me with a 'thank-you' look on her face. I said farewell and jogged the last three blocks to the Ramen stand seeing that I had only a half-hour until Ichiraku's closed. The fumes of delicious Ramen wafted from the kitchen tantalizing my taste buds and almost carrying me through the entrance of the door at double pace. Still with my wits about me, I dispelled the scars and made the mustache and beard fade away. I wanted Ayame to see who I really was for the rist time years.

"Hi, Ayame-chan!" I greeted when I saw her, waving and remembering to wear a similar outfit to the last time I picked-up Ayame from her home. I desperately needed her to see me and acknowledge me. I didn't get the reaction the anticipated for.

Ayame dropped the bowl she was holding as she saw me and heard my voice, wide-eyed in surprise. Ayame's eyes were shocked and dazed as if she were hallucinating or in a dream. Before the bowl could hit the ground, I dashed next to her, scooped it out of the air, twirled it, and placed it in the sink standing next to her. Her long, silky brown hair smelled of honey and almonds as well as Ramen, some of my favorite smells in the universe. She remained silent and paralyzed for the next few moments, reeling in shock of seeing me after years of believing I was dead.

"So, how have you been?" I asked, coolly, washing the dirty in the sink. No one was here at the moment so it was safe to talk. Or at least I assumed.

"How have I been? Are you kidding me, Itachi, I thought you were dead. For the past five years I have mourned you then you show up out of thin air and all you can say is 'How have you been?'!" Ayame snapped, flames and sorrow licking her large, pretty caramel eyes. Even in anger she looked amazing in my eyes. She blushed as she saw me stare intently into her eyes as if commiting as much of her blossomed-self to memory. "Stop looking at me like that, Itachi-kun, you're making me nervous."

To tease her a little, I replied "But I love it when blush, Ayame-chan." She blushed even more and gave me a forceful and playful shove to my shoulder, causing me to chuckle as she barely succeeded to making me flinch.

"Damn, you really have grown haven't you. You aren't that thin thirteen year-old ANBU captain I fell in love with before. You've definitely been working out Itachi. Was it by chance for me?" Ayame teased making me blush this time. The truthful answer was yes. I began working out recently to impress Ayame when I would next see her. It only took her a second to analyze what the blush meant. "You never forgot about me, did you, Itachi? Even though it would've have been safer for you." I stiffened at Ayame's soft words and voice filled with remorse. "Whoa, Itachi-kun, I only meant that the people who were after the Uchiha may be in the village for all anyone knows, that's all." Just as she finished those words, she leaned in and stole a kiss from my lips, letting it linger for a bit before pullign away. Those few moments felt like utter heaven, sweet like honey and cinnamon and soft and warm like Dawn's gentle rays of sun.

"I love you, Ayame-chan. I always have and always will, like when I told you on our last date before it happened," I whispered in her ear, recalling the memory of sitting on the First's head to watch the fireworks on the New Year. We kissed each other hungrily that night and somehow ended up sleeping in the same sleeping bag if the way we woke up was any indication, we had decided to sleep and spend the night in each other's arms, topless. I smiled at the memory. We were in deep love with one another. Ayame looked down, smiling, her face cherry red in embarrassment.

"Itachi-kun, did you that night we fell asleep before doing what we said we would, right?"

"Ayame-chan, are you sure about that? Because I don't remember that too well," I replied to the perfectly curved brunette who reached my height. There hadn't been a day that I remember blushing as much as then.

"Of course you didn't Itachi-kun, because you're the one who pretty much fell asleep in my arms. At first I thought you feinted, but when I heard your steady sleeping breath I knew you passed out from exhaustion. You had a rough day, protecting Naruto from a mob of assholes and then tracking down a missing-nin and a bunch of bandits," Ayame replied, amused as she remembered everything.

"We made quite the strange couple, the daughter of a Ramen chef and the heir to the Uchiha clan. And anyways, I mean if you want we could...you know...start where we left off," I replied nervous, brushing the back of my head with my right hand. The last part came out with a little awkward stuttering. Who knew that this was the weakness of the shinobi who was an ANBU captain at thirteen years of age. Under different circumstances I would've hugged Ayame to me and kissed her with all the passion I could muster. However, since she hadn't said she loved me as well I didn't know our standing so was extremely nervous.

"Aw, Itachi-kun, you are adorable when you are nervous like that. Come here,"Ayame replied with a hgiher pitched voice, giggling a little. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me again but this time rather than letting go, she pushed against me opening her mouth, letting my tongue slide into her mouth. I felt as if I was in paradise, warm and fuzzy on the outside and the inside, inhaling Ayame's scent, feeling her smooth, soft skin against mine. "I love you, Itachi," she moaned softly, while kissing. I just nodded.

It only felt like seconds but I knew it was much longer as we broke away, smiling. Ayame's eyes reflected nothing but love and affection. All the hurt was gone as if I had sucked it out and replaced it with happiness. Realizing Naruto was in the hospital and that he would be hungry, I asked the invetible. "Hey, Ayame-chan, do you have five bowls of Ramen to take out. Two for me and three for Naruto. I am training him now and he is in the hospital at the moment. I completely forgot that I promised to get him Ramen because I was thinking about coming to see you," I asked Ayame, who nodded in response, pulling out five piping hot bowls of Ramen.

"I had a feeling someone would come in and ask for Ramen. These are on the house Itachi,okay? I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Ayame said, more stating the last part because she already knew my answer. "Make sure Naruto becomes the best. He was one of my best friends when you were away, love." The seriousness in Ayame's eyes made me understand the gravity of the situation. She wanted to see one of the people she cared for achieve their dreams and with what Naruto had gone through he deserved it.

"I understand, Ayame, good night, love you," I said before giving her a peck on the cheek and making my way back to the place this all started, excpet this time I came prepared.


	4. Friends and Lovers

**AN: Please review and take the poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers. I already have a pretty good one in mind, but you'll just have to wait and see.**

* * *

"Hmm...Where am I?" I groaned, head-spinning as I opened my eyes. My throat raged violently so it came out more as a dry croak than anything else. My muscles were less sore but some of them felt as if they were about to cramp-up. Almost immediately, my stomach growled, protesting for food.

"Hi, Naruto," a sweet, angelic voice responded. The voice sounded like Ino's, no question, but she never used such a tone around me. Only around Sasuke. My doubts, however, turned out to be false as sky blue looked at my face and neck in concern while I sat up aginst the comfortable bed. Beats a sleeping-bag on a tree branch. Also, it was actually warm, thoguh there was the annoying and irritating smell of anti-septic wipes and cleaning alcohol.

"Why am I in the hospital, Ino?" I asked, my voice ever so slowly removing the croak. The platinum blonde slumped her shoulders, utterly defeaated and deflated though she looked admittedly very pretty in that gold-white dress-or was it blue and black-that hugged her features and cut off at the knee. A pair of high top combat boots rose up just and couple inches short of the knee.

"Well, yesterday I asked Sakura and Shikamaru where you were because I heard rumors that you were in the hospital and I wanted to know. They pointed me to the room that you are in now, but when I arrived, you disappeared. I waited for six hours and still you were gone. I got extremely worried whether you were okay and the nurses and doctors were surpirsed that you weren't here because you hadn't checked-out. The next day I came back and still didn't find you and that got me worried sick. I started wandering around all over the village until I found Kakashi training Sakura and this new kid, Sai. He told me he thought you were in the hospital but was not surprised when I told him you weren;t there." Ino clearly was worried sick, but was it really because of me.

"I'm sorry, Ino, I was training with-" I started, reluctant but not wanting her to be worried.

"Chi-sensei, I know. He seems really cool and skilled. He used to be part of the ANBU and help trained Kakashi," Ino interrupted, smiling a little probably due to someone she just met telling the truth.

"Yeah, he's really cool," 'So that is what Itachi calls himself, interesting to know.'

"You know, Naruto, he is going to start training me as well if that is alirhgt with you," Ino said er cheeks getting a little pink. It looked like she was getting the same sickness as Hinata at the moment. That's curious.

"Uh, sure, I don't mind really," I replied with a smile, happy to have someone else to train with. And from what I had heard Ino has more chakra than Sakura, so it would more helpful. Besides, Itachi only looked like he had large reserves, he just has amazing chakra control so he doesn't lose any when he kneads it.

"Thank you. Sorry about the neck, Naruto, I kinda head-locked you a little too tight. I was just angry," Ino replied with a sweet smile. For some reason, I immediately fell in love with that smile. Ino started to turn around before she stiffened as if she just remembered something. "Naruto before I forget, here you go." Ino turned around holding a small bouquet of bush clovers. "I hope you get better soon, Naruto," Ino said putting them besides me, there aroma one of my favorite smells next to Ramen.

"Thank you, Ino, these are my favorite," I replied with a grin, happy to that someone was acknowledging me besides Kakashi, Itachi, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Choji. Sakura did sometimes just not as often, and when she didn't she was kind of a jerk. Ino blushed bright red and waved as she started out of the door. Just beofre she reached it, however, I could smell the familiar scent of Ichiraku's Ramen wafting from the hallway. And almost immediately, the door burst open to reveal I tall ninja that looked like Itachi except for a couple scars and a chin-beard and mustache.

"Order up, Naruto," Itachi said with a big grin on his face holding six bowls of Ramen. My mouth began to water seeing the food. "Oh, hey, Ino-chan. Nice seeing you here. I didn't expect seeng anyone here, but seeing that I have an extra bowl of Ramen, would you like to join us?" Itachi, disguised as Chi, asked kindly. He acted kind of like me in a few ways. Always smiling, excited, and pumped.

"Oh, um, are you sure you want me to be here?" Ino asked, surprised and slightly confused by Itachi's entrance holding a bunch of Ramen. "I haven't really had some in a while and only if it's okay with you and Naruto." Ino suddenly seemed a little shy, which wasn't really like her. She was looking at her boots and twirling a lock of hair.

"It's totally fine. Plus I think Naruto will need the comapny, right Naruto?" Itachi asked, I confirmed, happy to have people to be around and talk to. It had been a hard week of training and thinking of what-ifs. I just needed to cool down real bad. The Raven-haired leaf-nin plopped down on an armchair handing me three bowls, handing Ino a bowl, and starting on one of his own. Ino, seeing that no seat was left sat on the other bed and began eating. At first I thoughtshe wassn't going to finish it, but by the time I had finished my three bowls and felt satisfied, Ino had devoured it; Itachi had finished about the same time.

"Wow, Ichiraku's Ramen is really good! The pork, beef, and vegetables are cooked to perfectionand there aren't too many spices either. Thanks Chi-sensei!" Ino said, looking both full and happy. I grinned at her comment. Itachi on the other hand had a pensive look on his face as if something were bothering him.

"Well, do you taste any of the family love that Ayame-chan put in it?" Itachi asked Ino, clearly worried about the answer.

"Huh? I guess so," Ino replied after a couple moments of deep thought thinking about his comment and tossing it in her mouth. "Yeah, I do. By the way, Chi-sensei do you have a crush for Ayame?"

My eyes almost popped out of my head upon hearing that. The missing nin having a crush on the Ramen chef's daughter. I have nothing to complain about, but that just seemed odd for Itachi. When I was little I did have a crush on Ayame, but this was news. I heard she was still mourning the death of her boyfriend. Before I could ask sensei anything he replied.

"No, Ino, why would you say that?" His hand rubbed the back of his head smiling, his cheeks growing red. 'Oh my fucking Kami, Ino is right even I can see that,' I thought, sweat-dropping at the horrible lie. He even had a bruise that suspiciously resembled a hickey on the neck.

"You, Chi-kun, when it comes to lying about girlfriends or crushes, suck," a sweet familiar voice came from the door. Itachi jumped off the seat utterly surprised by it.

Only one person could possibly do that.

"Hi, Ayame-san, to what do I owe the pleasure," I said, bowing a little as she walked into the room. Ayame covered her mouth as she giggled as usual. She loved it when I did that because she thought it was cute and we were friends.

"Nothing, Naruto, I was just coming to check on you because Chi-kun said you would be here and that you were hurt." Ayame gave me a kind, worried smile. "I wanted to see if you were alright and if you would eat the Ramen I made this time. Sorry that my father couldn't be here or make some for you. He is on a business trip and i've been holding down the fort for him these past couple days."

"Ayame, you made these?" I asked incredulous and surprised at the brunette's comment. She nodded, anticipating the criticism. "This, this is, this is better than Tuechi's Ramen! How did you do it? Tell me everything." Ayame smiled at the pleasant surprise, she looked at Itachi for conformation who gave her a big grin and a nod. Ino just looked on captivated by Ayame for some reason.

"Um, Ayame," Ino interupted a little shyly, "That dress looks really beautiful. I was wondering where you got it, if you would tell me." Ino blushed a little, embarrassed by the comment but Ayame just smiled back and answered that she got it from the wind country when her teenage sweet-heart had come back from a mission there and gave it to her as a birthday gift. Soon the ocnversation devolved to me and Itachi talking about different jutsus and ramen while Ayame and Ino talked about fashion and guys. Time flew by because by the time Itachi and I finished talking, Ayame left and Ino joined in our ninjutsu conversation and when I checked the clock again, it was 1.00 AM.

Ino let out a yawn and lied down on the bed next to mine. She seemed completely exhausted as her eyelids started to fall over her eyes and she yawned. The sound of her soft rhythmic breaths brought me to sleep instantly almost as fast as her. Rather than fight it, afraid I may have nightmares, I welcomed it.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Ino and Naruto," a stern though kind voice said as a hand gently shook my shoulder. The skin on the hand was icy cool, though, jetting me from my sleep instantly though I fought it. My eyes fluttered open to see the open curtains of the window where the sun was up at about ten am. Standing above me was a long, raven-haired ninja wearing nothing but a black t-shirt with a White Raven and night-camo cargo-combat pants and boots. Twin scars and chiseled features with the mustache and chin-beard made the twenty year-old Jonin look roguishly handsome. He gave me a smile and motioned me to get up and help him wake Naruto. The blonde ninja looked peaceful and adorable as he slept, completely relaxed as he took long controlled breaths in his sleep with closed eyes. He still wore his clothes from last, reminding me that I had fallen asleep in the hospital. My parents might worry but probably not because I told them I would be training.

I pushed the adorable teenage ninja that loved to pull pranks. Sure sometimes he was rude and he acted like a clown, but he was Konoha's clown, my clown. I smiled before pushing him a little and telling him to wake up. Almost instantly, Naruto sat up whipping his head side to side before meeting my eyes. He raised an eyebrow at first, the gears turning in his head before remembering last night. "Morning, Ino. Morning, Chi," Naruto said with a burst of energy, stretching out his arms and legs before re-inserting his feet in his boots.

"Hey, Naruto, show Ino the way to the training ground and see if she can do _that_ jutsu, will ya?"Chi asked, hurrying to pack up all his stuff. Apparently he had fallen asleep taking inventory of his gear and his notes, scrolls, and seals, ending up stuffing everything in his backpack without organization whatsoever.

"Wait, Chi-sensei, where are you going?" I asked, shocked by his hurrying to leave. 'Yes, he may have important matters but isn't it also a priority to teach your students,' I thought. However, before he could give an answer he disappeared.

"Probably off to get some more supplies and such. Maybe saying bye to Ayame-san. What do you think?" Naruto mumbled, bummed a little that our sensei ditched us. He hopped onto the white window-ledge and motioned for me to follow. His eyes became impatient and he started tapping his feet when I stood there.

"Naruto, we should head by my house first. My mom'll pack some breakfast and I need to get all my gear. Probably a sleeping bag, too," I mumbled, embarrassed that I was unprepared to train. First impressions count. Naruto just shrugged telling me that it was on the way, otherwise he probably would've protested. In any case, he owes me. I had to drag and use multiple replacement jutsus to get him here; I decided I'd let it rest. I jumped from the window atop the roof of the next building over, following Naruto's lead to get there the fast way. It took no more than three minutes, but we finally arrived home. I grabbed the key under the mat and unlocked the front door knowing that my parents weren't home. As I made my way to the staircase, I noticed two things, one, that my mother had packed what seemed to be ten pounds of food in a bag and second, that Naruto had stopped following me.

"Come in, Naruto, it's alright. I am going to take a shower, in the meantime feel free to help me pack my gear and stock yourself up on sealing paper and kunai and whatever else you need," I stated, forgetting that Naruto hadn't really been invited to other people's home. I gave him a reassuring smile as he came in tentatively. The respect and caution he showed was pretty cute, I had to forcefully keep myself from 'aww'-ing. Quickly, I bounded up the stairs to my room, telling Naruto where to find the stuff and not to worry because my parents didn't care about their kunai and other armaments. As soon as I closed myself in my room, I stripped out of my clothes and got in the shower, blasting the heat to loosen up my muscles for the on coming day. After scrubbing myself with with soap, shampoo, and conditioner, I just let the water cascade around me. We had a few hours before we had to arrive, according to Chi-sensei. Instantly, thoguhts about Naruto shot into my mind. The real reason why I wanted to be stronger and more powerful was to impress Naruto. 'But do you really like him or is it only because Sasuke left and basically showed no interest in you whatsoever?' I thought. Now _that_ was the ultimate question to which I still trying to find the answer to. Maybe it was partly because Sasuke began growing even more distant and serious (even dark) and since he left that I realized that did love Naruto. After all, he would give his life to save his friends, his village, and those he loves even if they betray him or don't show kindness. And he is fun to be around, always talking, making jokes, and never giving up no matter how hard the obstacle; the latter is what made him so attractive.

It seemed only at most five minutes had gone by, but I heard an urgent knock on the door. When I didn't react, the fist rapped on the wood again, louder this time. "What is it?" I groaned, knowing it was Naruto, while turning off the shower, putting a robe on, and using my chakra to repel the water on my skin.

"Uh, Ino, I don't want to rush you or anything but it's been like forty minutes! And I already packed everything and got the seals and the borrowed kunai ready," Naruto moaned, a little tentative due to embarrassment but the message got through.

I grinned, concocting a plan full of mischief. On top of my undergarments, I put on my stomach-exposing short-sleeveless purple vest and a purple skirt that went just at mid-thigh length. I quickly brushed my hair, clipping it so that a bang partially covered the right-part of my face, though leaving my hair down otherwise. I re-donned the robe and opened the door quickly. The look on Naruto's face was priceless. Because he couldn't see a single piece of cloth on me except the loosely hanging bathrobe, he blushed and turned around but not before I caught his gaping mouth. I dropped the robe loud enough for him to hear, making him jump.

"I-Ino, w-what are you d-doing?" Naruto stuttered, completely embarrassed and taken aback. Before he could do anything, I swiftly turned him around making him look at me in utter confusion. "How did you get dressed so fast?" Naruto asked.

I giggled. "I was only teasing you, Naruto-kun. I had these clothes under the robe. Anyway, looks like what Sakura said is wrong." I knew that as I said it, I had Naruto hooked onto every word I was saying. I didn't say anything for a little while, just humming away as I put my medical ninja gear purse over my shoulder and strapped on my backpack. The air in the room became stifling as Naruto's anticipation and curiosity enveloped the atmosphere. "Alright, alright, Naruto I'll tell you what she told me. Sakura said that you were...hm, what is the nicest way to put it...a horny-pervy teenage boy," I replied, drawing the words out to create as much tension as possible. It was kind of fun seeing Naruto get riled up and seeing how far his reactions would go.

"Oh, she did, did she?" Naruto said as if it was news, slightly pensive. Knowing my blonde ninja friend, however, it meant that he had been guilty of it in the past.

"In other words, you used to be, Naruto-kun, hm?" I asked, rhetorically, "It's alright, I understand. Hormones and everything are hard to control at first. Also, you've outgrown it." Naruto blushed at the former only to be taken aback by the latter, probably questioning my sanity. Thing is, takes one to know one, but I wasn't about to admit that to Naruto. Frankly, it was too embarrassing.

Naruto laughed it off a little at first, scratching the back of his head. Though tentative and half-hearted at first, he burst out laughing melodiously. It too me a moment to realize that I rarely heard my blonde friend's real laugh. It's melodic, honeyed tone stunned me for I had never heard such a voice like this, melting my heart with an odd golden flame that reminded me of joy and desire. "Alright, Ino, ready to go?" Naruto asked with a big smile plastered on his face as his laughter died. Again I noticed that he had hid behind a mask of fake happiness and that before now, Naruto-kun rarely felt true happiness. I smiled at the thought that I could make the blonde feel happiness, almost immediately feeling blood warming my cheeks. Naruto hopped on the windowsill with the breakfast pack slung over his left shoulder. "By the way, Ino, thanks for making me laugh. I haven't felt remotely happy like that in awhile," Naruto whispered, giving me a thumbs-up and a semi-happy-and-sad smile.

This time my cheeks burned rose-red at the compliment. Quickly, I hid my face abashed. "Y-your w-welcome, N-naruto," I stuttered. 'Great, Ino, yo sound like Hinata now'. Naruto cocked his head ever so slightly, making my heart-race, hoping that he couldn't connect the dots.

"Are you alright, Ino?" Naruto asked, concern washing those beautiful cerulean-blue orbs. I nodded, not trusting my words at the moment, conflicted. "Your face was all red, so it looked like you had a fever was all." Naruto smiled, happy to see that I was indeed okay. In a sudden blur, the hyperactive ninja leaped onto the next building, waving me over with a grin and small glint of mischief in his eye; this sent shivers of excitement down my body.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, elsewhere in Konoha**

After having given the message to Ino and Naruto and left them to themselves, I strolled down the road with my usual disguise, gazing at the care-free fluffy clouds in the deep blue sky. The birds chirped melodically though it was close to noon. Jasmine, honeysuckle, bush clover, and other flowers released their sweet, soothing smells that helped calm the mind while the slight warm breeze caressed the world. I took a deep breath and took it all in, longing to remain in Konoha, the place I loved. The faint jubilant shouting of children playing in the street, laughter of adult shinobi reminiscing on the good old days, chatter of women talking excitedly about news (not gossip, news). And of course the thrumming of chakra as genin teams trained. It felt good to be back, albeit not as myself, and brought back profound memories so filled with nostalgia that I had to force myself to hold back the tears as I strolled to Ayame's house.

'Ayame-chan, I can't believe I revealed myself to you and that you waited for me on the hope that I was alive. I never forgot about you Ayame, I just couldn't face the village again and the memories it holds' I thought to myself, praying that she would in time fully forgive me. Though she told me that she did, I knew that Ayame was telling the complete truth; it would take awhile before things could go back to normal.

After fifteen minutes, I finally arrived at her house. My palms were sticky with sweat and my stomach somersaulted like a gymnist, nervousness catching me off-guard. Now that she had a night and a morning to think about this clearly, Ayame may have decided against me. I couldn't blame her if that was the case, but still my heart wrenched at the very thought of it. 'No, Itachi, you can't think like this. She said she loved you last night, there is no reason to be afraid.' Taking a deep breath, I rapped my knuckles against the blue wooden door of the quaint white-washed single-story house. A faint scuffle of someone fumbling with things before hurried clicks of the unlocking door.

A blue blur lunged at me, wrapping me in the tightest of hugs ever. I hugged back, though short of breath as the oxygen was squeezed out of my lungs. Justas spots began to form, the caramel-haired beautiful young woman let go, allowing me to take the breath I desperately needed. "You finally came Itachi-kun, I've been waiting for you for well-over an hour, but it's alright. I'm just glad you're hear, love," Ayame whispered, her warm breath tickling my ear, a suggestive tone at the last words making me blush.

"Of course I'd come, I love you more than all the world," I whispered back, making her blush. Before I could stop myself, I gently guided Ayame's face to mine and wrapped my lips around hers, soft yet burning with passion. Sweet, soft lips met mine, fireworks of desire blazing. I pressed Ayame closer to myself, my hands carressing her back. Ayame's soft, tender hands ran through my long raven hair, moaning slightly against my lips. Stumbling through the doorway, we entwined ourselves, sharing the same hot breath. Savoring every kiss, I pecked my way down her jaw along her neck and to her collar bone before making my way up. Ayame moaned softly, before turning me around and pressing me against the wall, sliding her tongue past my open lips, pressing herself completely flat against me. This time I moaned, closing my eyes to savor it. It felt like heaven as liquid gold spread along my insides.

"I love so much Ayame-chan," I half-whispered half-moaned as she bit my neck in a few different spots. My heart raced and I followed suit, letting Ayame take the lead. She had always been the more aggressive one in the relationship. Just as I went to kiss her again, she gave me the biggest, love-filled smile I had ever seen on her face.

"Itachi-kun...I want to...tell you something..." Ayame replied, between kisses, the sun reflecting off her breathtaking eyes so their rich chestnut color gleamed. I mumbled a barely audible yes as I kissed her again. Again, the addictive burning sensation while we maintained the kiss. "I love you more" she whispered after taking a breath.

I threw my head backwards, forgetting that a wall was behind me, and let out a laugh, despite the jolt of pain from smacking my head against the wall. "No, I love you more," I added, still laughing, remembering similar playful fights about who loved the other more and how much. "I love you more than having the ability to eat a never-ending supply of your and your father's Ramen." This was saying a lot because I loved their Ramen more than most things in existence.

"Oh yeah, well I love you more than Ino obsesses over her looks," Ayame replied, knowing she got me on that. Despite my previous reply she pretty much had me stumped at the moment. That is before I remembered Naruto.

"I love you with more intensity and drive that Naruto has to become Hokage and protect the village," I retorted, sticking my tongue out at Ayame when she gave me a frustrated expression. She usually won the battles. This time, though, I had her stumped.

"Well, if you love me so much why don't you propose to me?" Ayame asked, quickly and in the same tone.

"In fact, I am going to propose to you," I said with a winning smirk before I registered the breathless and amazed look on her face. Using her reaction to guide my thoughts, I realized what I had said, shooting blood up my cheeks so I looked like a cherry tomato. "Heh, heh, so I spoiled my plan Ayame? I was planning to do it in about two months when I was sure about your feelings." I rubbed the back of my head, embarrassed and grinning madly.

Ayame looked at me wide-eyed at the sudden revelation and turn of events. She blushed and hid her face behind her long hair in a horrible attempt to hide it. "I-itachi-kun, do you really mean it?" Ayame asked hopeful yet abashed ever so softly. Ayame sounded so much like Hinata when she talked with Naruto. I couldn't help but grin, seemingly transported to the day that I first confessed my love for her when I took her to the Hokage monument. Her eyes held that same passion as they did those few years ago.

"Remember what I told you the day that I first told you I love you, Ayame-chan?" I asked. She nodded slowly, not seeing the point. "Well, the answer is the same," I said just as I kissed her on the lips. Almost instantly, she collapsed in my arms with a sigh. 'Shit, Itachi, you had go and make Ayame faint. Now people are going to be asking questions when I take her to the hospital. And I shouldn't leave her alone either.' Huffing out a sigh, I put on the genjutsu, rushed to the hospital darting from roof to tiled-roof. All I could think about is that I dug my grave in terms of a good impression with my students. I would be late for the first time in history and probably not the last.

 **Noon**

"Hi Ino, Hi Naruto," I greeted from behind as I appeared in a puff of clouds. They were sitting down, chatting, and subconsciously holding hands it would seem, as they looked at there hands in alarm when they realized it. 'Well, shit. The blonde ninjas are too dense to understand they were cut out for one-another. I mean they seemed to be having quite a peaceful moment,' I thought to myself.

"Sorry for not being entirely prepared, sensei, we thought you would arrive a little later," Naruto apologized. The truth in those words would be evident to anyone who has been trained by Kakashi or a close friend as they tended to be late, especially the former. It had been a pain in the ass when we worked together on big missions and when I had been training him with his Sharingan.

"No problem, you guys, I had to bring Ayame to the hospital," I replied with a sad smile to show that I wasn't in the greatest of moods and I was fine with them not being fully prepared.

"Whaaat?! Is she going to be alright Chi-sensei?" Ino gasped. Her white face paled even more if at all possible; her brows furrowed in additional concern. Naruto showed similar signs of distress and concern.

'Crap, they think it's worse than it is! Think of something, quick!' I thought frantically as sweat trickled down my back. My heart raced quickly and I had to force my pupils to not dilate. "She passed out due to lack of sleep. She wanted to talk to me but when seemed faint when I arrived and had dark circles around her eyes. I think she hasn't been getting any sleep for a few days, hiding it with make-up," I spat out before another second could go by. A moment of pensive silence had me worried for a moment. 'They shouldn't know Ayame well enough to know that she doesn't wear any make-up.'

"Huh, makes sense," Naruto commented almost to himself, stroking his chin with his right palm, "And that is a major relief. I thought she was hurt badly or something." Naruto shivered at those words, probably imagining what could've happened before giving me a grin. "Anyways, let's go guys. We talk while we travel." With that Naruto bounded across the slope of the mountain range towards our training area with an immense amount of speed, leaving a faint blur of orange and black behind him.

"When did Naruto get that fast, Chi-sensei?" Ino asked, following me as I followed Naruto. "I mean even when he was using his chakra to speed himself up, this is a whole new level for him."

"Two simple factors really: increase of chakra control and increase in physical training. I developed a new training method for Naruto that I think you may need as well. It will help build your chakra levels and control dramatically as well as greatly increase your endurance, strength, speed, and reflexes," I summarized, making sure to keep pace with Ino in order for her to hear me as we entered the forest and flew from branch to branch. The breeze generated from the movement caused my ponytail to wriggle like a snake, though it kept me from overheating in my black jacket, pants, and concealed armored vest.

"Sounds good, Chi-sensei. I have a question though, your face reminds slightly of someone. Would you tell me if you're related to him or his clan?" Ino asked curiousity overlaying the barely detectable concern in her voice. It annoyed me that she would try to hide something and even more so that she could still draw similarities. I really didn't need to launch into it right now, but Ino's piercing blue eyes pinned me. I only nodded, not trusting words on this one. "Are you part of the Uchiha clan?"

"Yes and no," I replied, making Ino groan in frustration. Her eyes quickly locked onto mine again and threatened major psychological pain. So I elaborated: "I only share a small portion of Uchiha blood. Most of me is Sarutobi and civilian with Senju mixed in. I was brought up outside the village and moved here when I was still a child to train as a ninja. And I do have Sharingan, just so you know, but no one except Naruto and Kakashi know that."

Ino almost stopped, forcing me to slow down, semi-freezing surprised by my answer. She clearly did not expect to be let on to a secret, forget that yet another person had Sharingan. It took a couple minutes, but eventually Ino and I reached a pace faster than our original one to catch up with Naruto. We spent the rest of the time in silence with only a brief interruption to see if Ino had the stamina to continue or to tell me and Naruto to slow down. Naruto grumbled when ever the pace dropped, making me smile inside with the knowledge that he could handle more. It also amused me because we were making really good time. Just as the sun signaled it was 1 o'clock, I spotted the clearing up ahead. Of course them seeing it was another matter entirely.

"Your training begins now," I told them, breaking the concentration-heavy silence. The two blonde teenagers looked at me with expectant eyes. It always had to happen this way didn't it, explanations were always necessary unless the others had tactical and analytical aptitude. "I'll give you two your objectives. You are supposed to find the clearing and obtain two scrolls each. Similar to the bell exercise, this will determine whether you are ready," I sighed, exasperated at their lack of initiative. Finishing topping up my chakra, I used a replacement jutsu before they could ask any questions. I had to check up on everything and add finishing touches to the clearing. As soon as I popped into the clearing, I did a few quick though analytical scans to make sure everyone and thing was position.


	5. Evaluation

**AN: Please review and take the poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers. I already have a pretty good one in mind, but you'll just have to wait and see.**

* * *

"Now what do we do?!" Ino exclaimed, frustrated that Itachi hadn't elaborated on what they were doing.

"Well, if my sense of direction is correct, the clearing should be about half a kilometer from us," I replied, understanding Ino's frustration at Itachi and his vague instructions. A whole week of training helped in analyzing, preparing, and planning for and in such situations. Unbeknownst to him, I had figured out one very important thing, by mixing expert tactics with some risky, surprising ones, opponents will be taken off-guard and reveal their weaknesses. "Well, get used to this, Itachi loves putting people into situations that train as many skills as possible, especially tactics and strategy," I added, focusing on scanning the surrounding area. Impatient, I crossed my fingers and channeled and divided my chakra, 'Shadow Clone Jutsu'. Immediately a puff of smoke appeared and dissipated as ten clones appeared on either side of me.

"Um, Naruto, since when do you actually plan and use your brain before acting?" Ino asked with tentative voice to not offend me, shooting me a curious look. I blushed at the comment in embarrassment before I added one last touch. Five of the clones flipped a hand-sign and transformed with the likeness of Ino. The real Ino gave me surprised look, quizzical about what I had done. "Okay, punk, what have you done with Naruto," Ino growled, gripping my jacket with a fist, tightening the fabric around my throat. "Talk. Now!"

"Can't...breathe...Ino..." I gasped out, feeling the oxygen in my lungs being replaced by carbon dioxide. Reluctantly, the stormy-faced blonde kunoichi released her grip just enough for me to draw in a lung-full of air. "Look, I am still the same Naruto. Itachi just changed my train of thought and trained me very well using a special technique is all," I replied with a reassuring smile. The fact that Ino thought I had changed quite a bit was disconcerting. It took Ino a few long moments, but she released me after inspecting every inch of my eyes, which made me extremely nervous.

"Okay, so I am assuming you are going to use these clones to speed up scouting and as decoys to draw any trouble. I can understand using six pairs of people to gather as much intelligence as possible, it just seemed very odd of you to do so," Ino replied hinting at an apology. I just nodded in understanding, she didn't even know the half of it.

"By the way, don't be surprised when I tell you I mastered a few new ninjutsu, some basic genjutsu, and perfected my taijutsu. Itachi gave me the equivalent of a hundred weeks of training via shadow clones. I can teach you to use them, I think." I added the last part for some unknown reason, since I had enjoyed spending that time with Ino on the monument. She was actually very nice and quite smart, Ino just didn't let it on because she was afraid of seeming less attractive, which I refuted as nonsense as if anything it only made her more attractive.

 **Naruto, I swear if you don't haul ass and get with the mission I will make you experience the worst nightmares ever.** The familiar voice still made a small part of me afraid, although we have been getting along better now that we worked in unison as he had begun to realize that if he helped me without taking me over we would accelerate past the abilities of all others of my kind. 'Yeah, yeah, nice to see you, Kurama,' I thought, knowing that the nine-tailed fox was just being a tough guy, living in denial of the fact that he liked me. The fox just grunted, before grinning when I told him what Itachi had done.

 **Ha ha ha! The Uchiha thinks that trick will work against me, how foolish,** Kurama chuckled evilly. He showed his teeth in a creepy grin that knocked more off-balance than the previous comment. **I'll give you a hint blondie, what have you been working on that is still your weakest asset?**

'Genjutsu, Itachi is using it to hide the clearing,' I thought in response, knowing Kurama could hear me. 'However, where would I start, Kurama-san?' I asked, using my politeness to placate him. Ino was right, I really had changed after Itachi forced me to study and train.

 **Well, look for anything out of the ordinary that shouldn't be here. Also, if you sense a large amount of chakra in a place, you should be able to recognize it. In addition, tell the clones to activate their Sharingan and to investigate for a few moments before dissipating.** Kurama's detailed plan left me utterly speechless. The fact that the fox could come up with a solution so quickly made me wonder whether I should use him as an adviser when I befriend him.

'You know, Kurama, you can be quite wily and intelligent,' I thought back to him with a conspiratorial grin. I opened my mouth to ask Kurama a very important question, but quickly shot the idea down in favor of using it as leverage.

 **What is it, Kit?** the massive red fox asked, curious and a little ticked-off. He growled as I shrugged as if it was nothing. **Boy, tell me your question. I hate not knowing what someone wants to ask or say.** When faced with another of my blank stares, the fox's eyes screamed anger and rage. His paw shot out of the cage lightning fast, so I almost didn't see it. I knew that it was the end right then and there as the menacing ivory claws that made katana look like kunai closed in. Just as I braced myself the paw stopped, however. The Kyuubi's eyes looked at me hesitant, gave one last soft growl and disappeared. **Naruto, we should move out now before any serious shit happens.**

'Alright, then, Kurama, you ready to show them how shit is done?' I grinned already excited. For some reason, every time Kurama and I worked together a little and he acknowledged me, I got excited and happy. Maybe it has to do with wanting to be friends with this demon. A sinister though happy chuckle sent shivers down my spine, the happy and sadistic natures didn't mix well at all reminding of Gaara when he was possessed. However, knowing Kurama, it confirmed my question. Immediately red chakra shot through my system mixing with the blue chakra to create an intensely powerful chakra like nothing I'd ever felt before.

I spaced back into the real-world. Looking at my clones, I signaled them to go, relaying the message mentally. "Ino, I am certain Itachi is using a genjutsu to hide the place because otherwise we'd see some missing treeline. Also, he is very good at genjutsus while we are still not entirely the best at detecting them," I told Ino as the clones spread out in five different directions.

"That makes sense though you took very little time to deduce that," Ino responded with a suspicious glint in her light blue eyes, though her lightly tanned skin showed no such trace in an attempt to hide her thoughts. Her sandals made the softest squeak against the smooth bark as she shifted to a crouch. "And, Naruto, speak for yourself. I can sense genjutsu and really any chakra quite well, especially with some of my father's training in sensing." Rather than the offended tone that would accompany this, Ino sounded cocky and eager to prove it. Her lean muscles flexed and released as she launched herself to the next tree, platinum blonde hair glinting and waving, while the sun's radiance created a nimbus of light around her body. I followed her as she jumped from tree to tree, scanning the area constantly. Feeling that the scanning was pointless, I sent chakra through the sharingan to see what Ino was doing. Immediately, Ino seemed to slow down as I was able to track her movements. The leaves had a much sharper definition to the point that I could see every blemish, shadow and shape.

I looked back at Ino and gasped in awe of what she was doing. She had built chakra into a sphere in her head to track Itachi's chakra signature, though I noticed it wobbled and wasn't super compact. 'That may hinder her range and sensitivity a bit, meaning that Ino needs to get closer for the jutsu to work effectively,' I hypothesized. My palms slipped, slick with sweat, anxious that I was indeed wrong; that maybe Ino wouldn't be able to find Itachi; that we would fail utterly, despite the training we had received. A soft gasp pulled me from my worries, alert for any nearby dangers.

"Naruto, I think I have lock!" Ino whispered as she pressed forward, pivoting to the right as she landed before rocketing in the other direction. The blonde kunoichi reacted so quickly, I could barely process what she had said before her silhouette shrank less than half its usual size. In addition, her feet made less sound than a stalking cat.

'Damn it, Ino, wait up for me.' I ground my teeth in frustration, calling the clones to follow Ino in pincer formation. Feet skimmed the bark of the branch keeping contact to minimum, legs and chakra pumped hard to deliver half maximum thrust, cool wind howled stinging the skin. Rich brown and lush green blurred together, the trees blurring together. Chakra blocking out noise only took the edge out of the banshee that was the wind. Finally, Ino's body grew back to its normal size allowing me to slow down and cut fifty percent of the chakra coursing through my legs.

"Quit making all that noise!" Ino hissed under her breath, just loud enough so that I could hear. It took me a moment to realize I had begun to breathe a little heavier from the burst of speed and the noticeable tapping of my feet. I grunted, not wanting to offend Ino with an outburst as it wouldn't be conducive to the mission. Ino's inhaled sharply, a look of alarm on her face as she stared at mine. "What is wrong with your eye, Naruto," Ino blurted out barely toning down her volume, "Is this a stupid joke or something that you're playing with me?!"

'Oh, shit.' Ino's wide eyes screamed bloody murder as she looked at my secret. Her knuckles cracked as she clenched her hands into fists ready to thrash me. "Uh, Ino, I...I sort of-ummm-forgot to tell you a-about i-it," I stuttered and stumbled through the words out of embarrassment and worry. Chakra receded, though only a little, from her fists. "You see, well, after the fight Sasuke removed one of his Sharingan and replaced it with my right eye. Well, at least that is what I am pretty sure happened," I spilled rubbing my hair. I was more certain of it now that I knew what my parents looked like and how they were. Neither of them looked remotely like Uchiha, though it was curious that Sasuke would do that.

Ino growled a little, letting some of her anger vent. I could practically see the steam fuming from her ears and nose. "Are you crazy or something, Naruto?" Ino asked, "Do you honestly think that Sasuke would ever do that for you? I think he would only do that on the verge of death, and then only maybe." Red blazed across her lightly tanned face, brows furrowing in anger and confusion convinced that I had either lied or didn't understand everything that happened. The words brought with them an ominous shroud of doubt, ignorance, and uncertainty once again.

'Could it be that Sasuke was intentionally trying to trick me or did he know that I had a Sharingan and wanted to bring it out?' I thought, holding my chin between my index finger and thumb pensive about such an incident. The more I thought and divulged into the situation, only more questions sprung into mind, not helping in the least. "This can wait for later. Let's go, we have a mission to accomplish," I interrupted both Ino's and my train of thought. She nodded with a grim smile, slipping through the shadows towards Itachi's signal as the clones arrived, Sharingan activated as they crawled into advantageous positions. I looked straight ahead and indeed saw that the wall of trees and bushes was a complex illusion detailing depth, shade, and even animals and sound. My Sharingan barely pierced through the well constructed veil of it all, giving a blurry image through it all.

Lo and behold the clearing splayed out ahead while a few figures crouched behind cover, waiting for us anywhere but behind. Obviously, this may be where the real Itachi was. "Ino, help me out here, please. I have the ten clones in pincer formation and we can make out some details but not enough. Can you slip in and counter the genjutsu, Ino?" I confessed, ashamed that I needed to ask her to do something so simple. I wasn't so proficient with cancelling genjutsu of such high caliber, rather only just above basic.

Ino just nodded, a slight frown creasing across her face in vague annoyance at the task of having to sneak in and report findings after canceling the jutsu. Clearly she wasn't so impressed by the fact that I couldn't effectively counter the genjutsu despite the sharingan. "Fine, Dobe, but don't expect me to wait up on you. I improved my techniques quite drastically. In fact, I learned a new mind-control jutsu and know a few new offensive medical nin skills, mainly involving paralysis and precise internal cuts." The eagerness and sadistic glee in those last words made me squirm. This clearly wasn't all entirely a charade, since no one can truly fake such a thing. Mainly, the grin had me worried that Ino may experiment on me if I try anything stupid. Before I could ask her anything, she activated a seal and hopped through the genjutsu mirage.

I sighed, praying that Ino would be okay as she flipped a couple signs and leaped through the genjutsu, taking out a couple kunai. *Thok* *thok* *thok* the unmistakable sound of three thrown blades cutting into something fell faintly. I thought of the worst as soon as I heard those sounds, a sick anger lighting up kindling. A soft groan. My heart fell, shattered by the noise. I fell on my knees, seeing Ino's body on the ground blood flowing through her mouth. The fiery pain of steel cutting into flesh and it was over.

The memory played itself in less than a second, coming to me in detailed flashes and emotions. I looked to the left and saw that one clone was missing. "Nice genjutsu, Itachi-sensei," I stated with a sly smile, "But you must be really stupid to try that again on me. Or are your skills failing from the lack of practice." A faint 'Hn' at four o'clock was all I needed. 'Big mistake'. He was right in the cross-fire.

"Wind Release: gale palm." "Fire Release: Great Fireball jutsu." Me and my clones whispered, five per jutsu. Blasts of wind caught the flame of the fireball as they collided, turning the flames white and turqouise with intense heat and speeding up the flames by six times. A bright explosion as they imapcted the stand of trees, sending aout an intense have of heat that singed my hair and knocked me back several feet. Embers, burning leaves, flaming bark, ash, and flame created a mosaic of destruction leaving only charred wood, a crater, and scorch marks. 'Itachi, I gave you a chance to escape, but let's see what state you-'

I crumpled as a black blur slammed into my abdomen, interupting my thoughts with pain and lack of oxygen. The ground came up with a thud and I lay gasping for breath, face to the side. I could barely move, the pain burned burned. **Hey, kit, get ready.** A quick warning before a tide of red shot through my chakra pathways turning the once indigo chakra to a purplish vermilion. Almost instantly the pain faded in favor of a burst of power. Sharingan activated I noticed the shadow of an axe kick descending. In a rush of speed, I flipped up throwing my right hand with enough force to catch the kick while leaving the kicker off balance. The face that looked at me, however, wasn't Itachi's. In fact, I couldn't see it at all. Only a ninja mask-hood and a headband with the symbol of the sand nation.

Nails extended and sharpened slightly into claws, anger clouding some of my better judgement, causing me to clamp them around the ninja's calf and launch him on his back. A scream of pain and he flew ten feet before slamming and skidding his way across the ground. The thump was sickening and the angle his body was at seemed wrong. Surely, I had broken more than just his leg. Perhaps his left arm too. 'Such power...Kurama, how come you didn't do this before?!' I thought, gazing at the chakra in my hand, glowing intensely in the sharingan. **Heh, Naruto, you have definitely used this power and in multiple occasions. Against Haku, Sasuke, Neji, and others. In other words, I've saved your ass and you owe me.** The Kyuubi's voice growled and had a hint of bitterness and slyness in it, which immediately threw me off. More surprising was the angle that the fox was taking. 'You know, Kurama, I owe you nothing. If anything you are atoning for all the heartbreak and death you have wrought. However, I know for a fact that people deserve second chances and that is why I still offer friendship,' I bit back without an ounce of fear, feeling my own chakra flare out. I was done playing games with the fox and living in fear of him. Either we bury the hatchet or I will shut him out. I could hear a little whimper in the fox's throat probably hearing my proclamation and knowing that I will never go back on my word.

 **You know, Naruto, I may take you up on that. But you have to prove yourself to me. Show me this through your actions, and prove to me that you can stand up to the darkness. Only then will I consider your offer, Naruto Namikaze** **Uzumaki.** With this the fox's voice disappeared, its proclamation final and something I couldn't understand. I mean, he was letting me use his chakra and everything, so we were allies of convenience yet he demands I meet him all the way. Only then it occurred to me that something had happened to cause him to be like this. Something to do with humans and his jinchuuriki.

"I promise, Kurama, that I will do just that," I whispered to myself before looking up and steeling my face, determined more than ever. 'I will show you compassion, strength, friendship, and all the good qualities people possess.' With this I dropped myself unto all fours and launched myself across the battlefield, noticing the seeing Ino sneaking up to two shinobi, though not realizing the trap.

* * *

Itachi POV

I observed Naruto as he took out the shadow clone in the tree before being jumped by one of the sand ninja that I hired. And Naruto almost got served, too. Much to my relief, the blonde shinobi took care of the man, yet the method that he used frightened me. A cloak of purplish vermilion chakra surrounded his body radiating sheer power. Worst, his nails turned into partial claws, his teeth were longer and sharper, his left eye had turned into a slit, and his sharingan had a magenta color with white-silver fang-like tomoes rather than the usual red with black comas.

"That Sharingan! It's color...I've seen that color eye before. But on whom?" I muttered as I wracked my brains for answers, tightly gripping a forked branch with my left hand and holding onto the one supporting my feet with the right. I needed to be still and grounded to recall such memories with dark paths. A purple eye full of malice and hatred and pain with rings like those in a tree trunk. Memories and ghosts from the past. The organization I grew more powerful in...Akatsuki? Anywhere from terrorists to murderers to evil masterminds, all S ranked missing-nin. 'Pein, the leader, that's who had those eyes. It's powers so powerful, the mangekyo sharingan seemed a toy. The eyes were called Rinnegan like the Sage of the Six Paths. And now that Naruto has a sharingan with the same color, I can only hope he will be able to defeat the Akatsuki and the mastermind behind it all,' I thought clenching my grip so the rough park splintered and cut into my palms.

While Naruto admired the power he possessed, I looked over to see Ino sneaking through the shadows towards two shinobi, the smirk on her face giving away the confidence and cockiness. The platinum blonde didn't realize she walked into a trap. Springing from the shadows with the grace of a feline, two kunai cut through the air like arrows at the shinobi. And the trap sprung. Three voices shouted "Water Release: Wild Water Wave" as three jets of high pressure water flew at Ino from behind just as the kunai hit their marks, causing the water clones to collapse. Ino somersaulted to the side wide-eyed in surprise of the ambush, rocked by the concussive blast and the wave of water that followed. The blonde kunoichi rose with wobbling knees from the sprawled position, hair and clothes soaked in water. She coughed out a little water, panting and thinking of a strategy as she raised her guard.

A flash of purple-vermilion rocketed in Ino's direction and beforeI could register anything despite the sharingan, the figure held a toned-down Rasengan formed in his right hand and slammed it into the chest of one of the water shinobi. A flash of bright purple from the explosion and the chuunin rag-dolled through the air and slammed hard into a tree. His body splayed on the ground at odd angles and I let out breath in a hiss, realizing that any C-ranked ninja would not be a match for Naruto.

"Water Release: Water bullet" one of the shinobi shouted, Naruto following in a hundreth of a second. The roar and crash of pressurized water colliding rang through the clearing with Naruto's stream of water slamming through his opponent's. Clearly, the jinchuuriki had pumped it up with extra chakra. The water collided with a log last second as the ninja used kawarimi. I sighed, happy that he didn't get caught by the jet of water that would was doubled in size as it tore down a few trees with thunderous cracks.

In a flash the last one spent no extra time, unsheathing her katana as she rocketed towards Naruto with incredible speed, knowing that the inexperienced Sharingan user would still find it hard to judge and predict her movements. Steel flashed in a blurs that caught the sun, giving Naruto little time to counter with his two kunais, needing to use both of the blades despite the extra strength boost, since speed and momentum would cause his wrist to fold and cause the blade to slide. Slowly, the blonde shinobi was pushed back by the relentless assault of steel with the occasional chakra-buffed kick or elbow. HE started to pant and shudder at the effort though those were the only signs of tiring. Somehow, his body could keep up while his mind wasted away. As the hundredth blow fell, the first mistake appeared. Naruto raised the kunai to block the blade, but instead of it colliding against the kunai, the kunoichi struck shot a lightning fast kick at his abdomen with a loud thump. I grimaced, hearing the gasp and groan from thirty meters away. His grip loosened on his kunai and as he tried to block the next two slashes, they flew to the side and clattered across the ground.

"Mind-Body Disturbance technique!" Ino exclaimed, trapping the kunoichi just before she released her ax-kick. Quickly, the kunoichi pivoted so the ax-kick became a roundhouse kick, missing Naruto by inches. And leaving him an opening. He growled and delivered a flurry of roundhouse kicks, each one landing with a sickening thud, till the kunoichi's legs gave and she collapsed battered. Ino exhaled and I noticed that she couldn't effectively use the technique for extended periods of time as she lacked proper control, but in the right circumstances she could use it to great effect. 'Good job, Ino, you are stronger than you may think. That was a battle-hardened ninja you were able to control, which is a hard thing to do,' I thought grinning at the talent I saw before me.

"Naruto, what the hell is wrong with you?" Ino exclaimed flabbergasted by the appearance of her friend. He looked at her in total surprise, still encased in that chakra cloak. "What's with the chakra around you? It only has some of your normal chakra, but the rest is something-something ancient and deadly. Even more importantly, your eyes, they're...they're all changed and different."

"Wait, what?! I knew about a the chakra cloak but you said both eyes changed," Naruto responded, raising a confused eyebrow. His eyes widened as Ino flipped out a mirror, showing him his face. "Whoa, the Sharingan...i-it's so different. I think I can feel it too. It's more powerful and I think it can help me copy faster," the boy muttered to himself in awe, leaving Ino even more confused than before. As Naruto looked up at Ino he again, he gave her a sly grin. "Well, Ino-chan, the story goes that I have a demon of pure chakra inside me." Ino gulped, slight anxiety showing on her face. Thoguh normally unperceptive, the blonde's face fell when he saw her reaction clearly losing confidence and rethinking what he should say.

"Um, Naruto, are you sure it's safe for you to use its chakra. I mean, won't the demon hurt you," Ino replied, so soft, the raven spying on them could barely hear and relay her voice to me. "You are using its life force while its trapped inside of you, which would make it angry, right?" Ino clarified at the stunned Naruto. Similarly, my jaw dropped at her comment. I had thought that her anxiety was out of fear for herself, not fear for Naruto. 'And since when did you care about Naruto, Ino-san,' I thought, disturbed and confused by Ino's uncharacteristic response.

"I-I haven't...really...thought about i-it that much, I-Ino," Naruto replied with a shaky breath, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "I guess it might, but as far as I can tell, there isn't really an advantage for the demon in question. He is sealed in me after all, so he can't really break out or anything. And if I die, he dies too, so its beneficial for him to help me, I guess." Naruto seemed to be puzzling this out in his head as if he had really never thought about it and found it relevant to some sort of puzzle. Predictably, the blonde shinobi dropped the serious attitude quickly and looked back up with a flare of determination in his eyes. "In any case, it doesn't matter right now. We should take all the advantages we have to secure those scrolls, Ino. Otherwise we are completely screwed."

Ino gave a small smile, her determination resurfacing as she drew a tanto and a kunai both underhanded, keeping her stance wide as she scanned the area. Naruto followed suit, this time drawing the two chakra blades I gave him and began channeling his wind chakra into a blue-green serrated blade about the length of his forearm. 'Curious, no shadow-clones, Naruto? Why would you-oh, so they aren't picked-off before they can do anything. Smart.' I smiled, proud that Naruto had been taking my lessons to heart. 'However, now its time to lose, my students. You have shown good enough teamwork.' With that thought, I sent a raven into the sky cawing three times fast and once long. The signal for the last group to attack. Made solely of a pair of jonin.

Leaping down from the trees, a muscular, jovial, hulk of a man landed gracefully on the ground, wearing the headband of the village hidden in the clouds. A pair of sunglasses and a black goatee adorned his face; a jovial look, dark-skin, white flak jacket, and white-blonde hair made the jonin look slightly friendly even before a fight like now. Cracking his knuckles and drawing two swords, however, the jonin looked formidable with his determined face while in a crouch. Naruto shuddered a little bit as he saw the two opponenets facing him, me and the said Jonin, making me question just how overkill this might be.

Raising his head, he hissed as the sun glinted off his sunglasses, "The sun is killer in my eyes! Is it afternoon already?!" the baritone voice of the jonin complained. Naruto and Ino sweat-dropped as the mood broke from the jonin's comment, both mentally face-palming. "Wait, what? Bro, you brought me, the Killer B, to help you train a couple of kids. This is a joke right?" B asked, clearly bothered by the thought and ignoring the fact that they took out highly skilled ninja with relative ease when working together. And ignoring Naruto's chakra cloak as if it was ordinary. Rather than pull up his guard, B sheathed both his swords and raised his fists instead. "I won't need those against these two," he announced with a bored yawn.

"Um, I'm sorry to tell you this B, but WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO BREAK THE MOOD!" I shouted at him, pissed that he couldn't keeping his horrible rhymes, poetry, and catch-phrases to himself. It was kind of like Guy-san's eyebrows, complete mood killer. B just gave me a blank look, allowing me to calm the raging storm of anger. 'Ah well, nothing can ever be perfect, but still..' "Killer B, do you understand what is in front of you right now. The heiress of the Yamanaka clan and Naruto Uzumaki. The former a great mind-control and medic-nin student and the latter, the jinchuriki of the nine-tails with a sharingan," I whispered in his ear. Immediately the hulk tensed a little, understanding something and realizing the importance of it.

"Ah, that makes sense, Itachi, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still genin that can so far only beat chunin," Killer B muttered matter-of-factly. This time, though, he raised his fists and widened his stance into an aggressive powerhouse style that used lightning quick powerful strikes and solid defence techniques to defeat opponents. "Alright, kids, bring it on," B shouted with enthusiasm, locking his eyes with Naruto. Something about the boy made this jinchuriki eager and excited.

With a sigh, I dashed towards them with a burst of chakra, gathering up wind chakra around my appendages. Naruto was my first target. I'll let Killer B take Ino because I had a bad feeling about a battle between two jinchuriki. I could see NAruto's eyes widen slightly as his sharingan traced my path and movements with expert precision. 'Too bad you won't be fast enough, though,' I thought as last second, I accelerated even faster into a flying roundhouse kick. So slowly Naruto began to dodge or so it seemed. A moment before impact, the blonde's chakra cloaked forearm batted at my leg. I twisted midair seeing the movement, allowing the powerful blow to spin me to behind and to the left of Naruto, already prepping an attack. 'Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire technique', launching a bunch of fireballs at Naruto as he wheeled around.

"Water Release: Water Bullet" Naruto tried to counter, blowing a jet of water at the fireballs, but I jerked most away, slamming the rest at Naruto's leaping form. HE braced, the explosion of fire knocking him backwards. Hehad tumbled back from the direct hit, his cloak weakened and burns appeared on his body that began to slowly heal.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" I shouted blasting a huge ball of flame at the blonde shinobi, following up with a volley of air bullets to strengthen the jutsu. The fireball rocketed white hot, turning some of the sand into glass before exploding in a fiery sphere of blazing radiance. The shout of Naruto's pain made me wince, worried that I had over done it. A loud growl and a blur shot straight at my chest, holding a spiraling sphere of chakra. Thinking of nothing else, I met the sphere with a punch of tightly woven fire and wind chakra, to form a drill around my arm. Blinding vermilion light, burning pain shooting up my arm, roaring explosions; the blast sent me flying weightless and disoriented across the clearing. The gravel and sand stung as it ripped some of my skin and embedded itself into some of the burns on my right hand. I felt a disconcerting fatigue settling in as I had no idea Naruto possessed such power in this form. That chakra in the rasengan was destruction incarnate. Warm blood trickled out of the wounds on my arm, testament that if I hadn't packed a wall of spiraling chakra, I would've lost it. "Fuck you, Naruto. I'm not going easy on you anymore. Especially with that new sharingan. You want to learn, I'll give you payment in full," I spat in bitterness. Truth was, the kid had bruised my ego and that didn't go unpunished.

I leaped across the clearing gathering chakra in my palm, having seen what Naruto had done with the Rasengan on multiple occasions. Now it was time to test it out myself. "Rasengan!" I shouted as a sphere bluish chakra spiraled in my palm, swirling tightly and depleting a noticeable amount of chakra. The body of the shaken Naruto dashed back as the sphere of chakra slammed into the ground where his lower back had been a second before. A shining explosion of chakra, a concussive blast, and flying shards of rock and dirt immediately followed leaving a sizable crater in the ground. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw the blur of movement and I instinctively lashed out with a backhand strike to the forehead meant to daze. Instead, it slammed into something hard, shifting it back a little and causing some of the support to give. Not waiting to see who or what it was, I followed up with a one-two-three set of jabs to the torso. None landed. On the contrary, lightning quick, chakra cloaked hands blocked the incoming punches with perfect anticipation. Again, I delivered a spinning roundhouse kick and flurry of chakra enhanced strikes, beating back Naruto under a storm of precise expert punches. 'The sheer volume of strikes combined with their precision should overwhelm the shinobi, considering even jonin have difficulty against this'.

In fact, I felt the thud of skin on skin as most of the body shots landed on Naruto, knocking him off-balance, leaving him open, or just inflicting pain and a battering of force. He groaned as well over half the body shots landed delivering bruises and battering his bones into submission. Slowly but surely, the blonde shinobi began to tire more as he took more shots, freezing up his body. Pants, sweat, and blood filled the air as some of my punches slammed into his face, splitting his lips and bloodying his noise. Naruto tried to counter with a handful of kicks and punches but only a few actually landed. And I was glad for it. Each one was like being hit with a sledgehammer or by a gorilla. In other words, fucking painful as hell, not to mention muscles spasms caused by the chakra. With each passing second, I could feel my stamina ebb just a little by utilizing my chakra to enhance blows and counter the few desperate of Naruto. I needed a bigger opening to wale on Naruto since i couldn't hit any of his soft organs or weak points. However, as the chakra-enhanced, fast, and strong strikes battered the blonde shinobi he became more sloppy, more tired, and more docile, unable to catch his breath. The boy was just getting battered and knock, but came back for more, despite the heavy bruising, contusions, slight stress fractures, and bleeding.

"Heh, Naruto, what's the problem? You should give up already," I spat, stinging his ego after landing a crushing ax-kick in between his shoulder-blades, "You will never be able to beat Sasuke. You're a worthless waste of time, Dobe. Don't even bother getting up." Naruto groaned as I kicked him in the kidney, causing him to roll a couple meters completely exhausted. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as I got the quick break, taking out a couple soldier pills, ready to pop them. Naruto kept still, making me break a sweat in worry, believing I might've taken it too far, I could still here his breathing however. 'Clearly you need some more encouragement,' I thought, slight guilt pitting my stomach. "Naruto, know something. You will never ever become hokage. You put shame on the two clans you were born in, disgracing their names. Instead of a proud warrior or tactician, you are a cowardly, weak clown. And even worse, you can't even save your friends from the darkness, so quit your delusional dreams and give it up, demon-filth," I cut with barbed poisoned words that pushed his every button and fear, hoping to get a reaction from him.

Suddenly, the chakra cloak blazed back on emanating ancient fury and killer intent. Naruto's shoulders trembled as if he were crying. I would've drawn a sharp intake of breath in guilt if I hadn't noticed the noise. An evil, maddened cackling erupted from Naruto. "You just had to go too far, didn't you, Uchiha?" Naruto growled, still half-cackling with savage, hysterical anger, but it wasn't Naruto. The voice spoke with a certain shrewd and wise air while being one-and-a-half octaves lower than Naruto's normal voice. Cold beyond measure, there was no question this _thing_ had killed for the sake of it.

'Naruto, what did I do?' I thought, frantic at the mistake I may have just made. The cloak was mouch larger and more solid than before, not to mention more blood-red. I shivered, haven't faced as powerful chakra as this in a long while. 'I need to use the mangekyo sharingan to defeat this...but I also have Killer B.'

Speaking of whom: "Bro, if you don't mind, let me handle this. I was the same as him at one time and I do have a bijuu," Killer B interjected, entirely serious seeing the threat. Naruto had just sprang up and twisted before us revealing longer fangs, a slight mane, claws instead of fingernails, and more obvious whiskers, besides the zealously twisted sneer and the altered sharingan. B removed his swords and channeled lightning through them seeing the challenge in the blonde's eyes.

"Wait, B," I said, planting my hand against his shoulder to restrain his movement, "Let me finish what I started. Besides, I haven't even really tried. Time to take the gloves off."

* * *

 **A/N: Naruto's Mangekyo powers as per polls so far (either take poll or PM me) minus the special power I concocted**

 **1\. Kamui - 3**

 **2\. Kami no hariken - 2**

 **3\. Amaterasu - 1**

 **4\. Tsukuyomi - 0**

 **5\. Kotoamatsukami - 0**


	6. Mangekyo

**AN: Please review and take the poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers. I already have a pretty good one in mind, but you'll just have to wait and see. I'll give you a hint: think of Hirashin or Kamui.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Kurama POV

 **Kit, the fuck you think you're doing,** I growled at Naruto. True, Itachi was an S-rank shinobi but so should Naruto, well, if he loistened to me and let me out of my damned cage that is. 'I mean sure, you be could pop out of the boy, but what good would it do then. I won't be able to influence people and I'd be way out in the open and draw lots of unwanted attention,' I thought grumbling over the fact that Naruto could be so stubborn. However, because of his inability to follow my instructions and not vent my chakra when I gave it to him, Naruto could not defend himself at all. Instead, the Uchiha's fists blurred at impossible speeds, piercing the cloak of chakra that I tried to solidify, and battering Naruto in such a manner that Naruto could only get a couple punches. It was embarrassing, especially in front of the Hachibi, Gyuki. After Itachi's ax-kick between the shoulder-blades, super-charged with wind and water chakra, knocked whatever fight Naruto had left, leaving him beaten and immobile, where he lay now. And that really pissed me off, though I could feel the pain from Itachi's kick and couldn't help wincing.

"Itachi's too strong, Kurama. I'm trying, but you're not doing anything to help besides giving me too much chakra for me to control," Naruto shot back, feeling dejected and hopeless, perhaps the only time he has ever given up. His eyes blazed with frustration and his brows furrowed, upset with his lack of one-on-one ability. He met my gaze for a second, revealing my chakra's effect on his sharingan, piercing and more menacing the other Uchiha's. And more powerful than Kakashi's but not quite as strong as having two.

 **Naruto...the lack of ability and perseverance is upsetting. I am beginning to regret helping you if you can't manage my chakra,** I remarked back tracking into the shadows and drawing back most of my chakra to make him beg or ask for it. Itachi wouldn't let him stay down, no, I knew that the Uchiha would provoke him so I had to wait just a little. Almost as if I had signaled it, I could hear the stinging taunts of Itachi. With each remark, Naruto's defiance crumbled and his anger and darkness surfaced. The shuddering of the ninja before me and the kaleidoscopic range of expressions on his face caused something warm to light in my chest; something foreign and wrong, sympathy was it. 'No, impossible, humans are all the same: heartless and destructive. You cannot feel pity for this naive child. Use your advantage and push Naruto.' I pressed down the emotion without another thought and grinned as sadistic pleasure coiled through my body. All I needed was to work with Naruto's anger. **Hey, Kit, are you just going to let that Uchiha mock you like that. His words are the same as everyone else's who inflicted pain on you. Prove him wrong Naruto, prove to all the people that they are wrong!**

The emotion-flooded and tempting, goading voice caught Naruto unawares. Sweet temptation wafted from Naruto, a need for vengeance and revenge. Hurt, anger, sorrow, malice, and fear shook violently together as if a martini. He looked down at his feet and the water in the flooded area. After a few seconds, Naruto looked back up with an expression I'd never had seen on him before fury mixed with the need for guidance. "What should I do, Kurama?" Naruto asked innocently, though the dark intent in his voice was impossible to miss.

'My, my Kurama, how smooth,' I thought with a satisfied smile, having to stifle an evil cackle. **Kit, channel all your hate, fury, and emotion through yourself and let it control you in the fight. Mix the cold-calculated killer with your fury and let me give you a flood of my chakra. Don't block it.**

"But wouldn't that allow you to control me?" Naruto asked with a skeptical look, freezing my heart, thinking he had just caught me. I couldn't breathe, yet wanted to curse away. "I want to see it for myself and experience it, Kurama, otherwise there wouldn't be a point," he finished with a dark glare. His hands had tightened into fists and his eyes sharpened with rage, ready for a smack down. The sheer determination in his words was palpable.

 **Alright, then, let my chakra flow with some of yours and limit it when necessary. You should be able to show them your power and prove them wrong.** I had to admit that Naruto was a little too gullible for my taste but at least it served my purposes well enough. We wouldn't be able to defeat the Uchiha most probably, but at least we could press him hard. 'And Tsukyomi shouldn't be much of a problem. If anything, it may allow Naruto's sharingan the final push,' I thought with utter pleasure. The day he awakened it, I'd be virtually impossible to stop, as long as my hypothesis about what I could do to the Mangekyo is correct. As Naruto nodded, I unleashed a flood of chakra through his chakra system, attaining a small amount of freedom that I hadn't had in a while. I accessed Naruto's vision, seeing the scene before me. I could feel more of the pain that Naruto felt, directing my chakra to fix the damage and raised up another chakra cloak, this time adding additional power to it.

Influencing Naruto's movements wasn't too hard, yet I couldn't fully control him...yet. In a flash, I flipped Naruto to his feet with his back to Itachi. The urge to be dramatic and the importance of an intimidation factor wasn't lost on me. I spun to face Itachi and let fly a dangerous sneer. I was so absorbed in the visibly tired Uchiha with a few injuries and the hate I felt for his kind that I didn't notice what this dark version of Naruto said, only hearing Itachi's comment.

"I haven't even really tried. Time to take the gloves off," the tall, raven haired Uchiha muttered with a certain satisfactory gleam in his sharingan eyes which I couldn't help but balk at. I remembered that same expression of that Uchiha responsible for my rampage. And even worse, he had the audacity to pretend that none of the injuries from the Rasengan showed.

'Well, Itachi, you have no idea what you are about to face. And you will taste my wrath,' I thought with fury and malice already picturing the spattered bits of gore across the Uchiha after I finished him. An eye here, a hand across the training ground, a huge smear of blood in the middle, his intestines in a nearby tree...Realizing I had started daydreaming, I brought myself to reality once more, seeing that Itachi had not moved, though Naruto was staring straight at his eyes. 'Dumbass' I thought, lowering Naruto's gaze and lunging at Itachi without warning, careful to leave all parts protected. The ground cracked as we pushed off towards the Uchiha.

Though I calculated the speed of the jump to perfection, Itachi still seemed to dodge the spinning roundhouse kick to the temple, ducking under and to the right completely avoiding the cloak, but being buffeted by the wind chakra. The impact crushed and cut through the ground creating a deep hole. **Nice job, Uchiha! I'm impressed by your martial prowess, but I suggest you check your surroundings more thoroughly,** I remarked with a certain bloodthirst and dark amusement, activating a seal. A small explosion rocked the ground a few meters to my right where Itachi once stood. Or so I thought. I wheeled around to see the handiwork but only faced a smattering of raven feathers and charred raven remains. 'His signature clone, well, too bad he has that many less of them.' I grinned despite the failure. Good to know he was using clones, at least I knew what to expect. I made a cross sign triggering Naruto's favorite jutsu and fired it up. A giant pop of pressure and a huge white cloud appeared and dissipated, revealing the army before me. Three hundred shadow clones with Sharingan and my chakra cloak. And I hadn't even gotten started yet.

 **Are you ready, _sensei_? ** I growled with sarcasm. **You said you'll take the gloves off, so show me what you're worth!** I roared the last part to taunt Itachi and attempt to draw him out, especially with another S-ranked ninja present. I barely heard the high-pitch scream of tens of shuriken as they cut through the air, their grey-black steel catching the light. I flipped backwards as did most of the clones, but some weren't so lucky. From what I could tell the shadow-clone shuriken jutsu had taken out a tenth of the clones and the deep holes and scorch marks in the earth made it obvious with what type of chakra they had been attuned with. Ah, well. Too late to triangulate your position Itachi, but...

Along with the clones, I gathered my chakra and blew a huge fireball at the trees, smashing the trunks into splinters and incinerating them. The heat rose dramatically from the fire, causing sweat to stream down Naruto's face. "Now where is he hiding," Naruto murmured with a deep perhaps cruel voice with which I wasn't used to. I could feel his heart rate begin to heighten and a cold sweat begin to break on his forehead as his anxiety or nervousness grew. He pulled out a chakra blade and absentmindedly channeled wind and fire chakra in quick succession, putting almost zero effort into the exercise and the blades in and of themselves were larger than I had thought Naruto could handle. A flash of movement to the left and as something leapt out of the flames, a shadow flying at such a high speed that the sharingan had issues tracking it.

"Tsukuyomi!" Itachi shouted locking eyes with Naruto as his Mangekyo activated, plunging him into a genjutsu. 'Damn it!' I shouted, realizing that Itachi may use this to first dispel the influence I had or defeat Naruto while I had it. The world became a dark red as Naruto was thrust in a deadly nightmarish landscape that seemed ethereal having been caught as a negative film in a camera. The stone was frigid as Naruto looked to the side, seeing the two people I despised the most, Minato and Kushina, staring down at him. A deafening bloodcurdling roar blasted close by as Naruto looked at the giant nine-tailed fox in front of him, otherwise known as myself, rampaging close by. Naruto tried to move or shout out but couldn't, all he could manage was a baby cry. He noticed it immediately and looked down at his hands, revealing what he had feared: he was his little baby. I began to remember that night, the feeling of half of me being trapped and sent to hell, while the other half remained here. 'Minato Namikaze, I admit that this has perhaps been the kindest human who has been my jinchuriki but couldn't you have chosen anyone else. I must agree with Kushina that you shouldn't have done this to him. It will destroy him, and for that, I cannot forgive you if I ever forgive humans at all.'

Suddenly, Kushina shot her adamantine sealing chains holding me still as Minato prepared the most feared and forbidden jutsu: Dead Demon Consuming Seal. As he captured my Yin half, firing up pain to my retreating form, Minato decided to use the last of his life to seal the other part of me. He placed a seal on Naruto's stomach and instantly Naruto cried out in so great pain as he saw his mother and father collapse as they died. One from the Shinigami the other from having me released forcefully. Pain racked through Naruto from heartbreak and the pain as this half of me bonded with Naruto to create a chakra network. His vision swam in and out and the excruciating pain was obvious as even I felt it. It was if every molecule in both our bodies were separating and fusing at the same time, while being flash-frozen and super-heated. This time pure rage erupted within Naruto as the landscape flashed and cracked in his vision. Something vital to him had broken and suddenly I wished I wasn't inside him as I felt a sudden difference in Naruto's right eye and chakra. As if one barrier of some sort had cracked; the chakra of his own that I had been leeching on erupted out like a dam.

Itachi's knees buckled as his infamous genjutsu broke abruptly, making him fall on one knee and spit out a little blood, drained as blood came out of his eye. He suddenly seemed vulnerable and more than little frail and ill. He was going to lose control anyway, was my theory. His breathing was more than a little heavy and slightly troubled. "How did you go through all that, Naruto, and still be standing? That was supposed to allow me to beat you," Itachi spat, panting in exhaustion. I realized that all the clones had disappeared and he had probably made shadow clones to make sure to get a few others, as he wasn't entirely sure. His own Mangekyo had blood dribbling down it and began to fade back to sharingan and into his original eye. Not only that but his arms seemed to be burned.

Naruto, on the other hand, still had a bunch of his chakra at his disposal, having used quite a bit of mine, I noticed, for breaking the genjutsu. **Smart move kit,** I complimented the annoying, yet surprising blonde. "Shut up, Kurama!," Naruto's inner voice retorted back to his normal one and free of that darkness. This anger that he now had was righteous in a quite a few ways, causing me to unavoidably shiver as he sounded so much like Minato and Kushina. "Itachi, what the hell did you show me?!" Naruto shouted, pissed off at his sensei. I tried to look through his eyes, but I felt the huge tole the jutsu had on me as I realized I was more than half in control of Naruto. I needed to rest and calculated that Naruto would soon collapse, noticing that he had made his own chakra into cloak-like armor. The last thing II noticed before drifting off was a mangekyo in Naruto's right eye, purple-red with a silver-white design that looked like the Namikaze clan symbol (three curved spokes each with a sideways tomoe attached).

* * *

Itachi's POV

I looked at Naruto with utter awe. He looked beaten and destroyed but his eyes held ll the defiance in the world. Scratches, cuts, gashes, bruises, and blood crowned the genin, yet he still stood. I began to understand exactly what the other presence was, the Kyuubi, who was giving most of his chakra to Naruto the entire fight, healing him, though it took a physical, emotional, and mental toll on him; the evidence in the scorch marks and unsteady footing. And like before another chakra cloak surrounded him, but this time, well, it was his own in what looked like quite an effective shield. I wouldn't have problem piercing it as I still had chakra, but my sickness had come back to sucker-punch me as I hadn't taken much medicine recently and the Mangekyo had a nasty habit of bringing it out. Moreover, the power within Naruto was insane, though self destructive.

"Heh, Naruto, I am pretty sure you know what I was talking about. What you saw and experienced was an illusion that I was a powerful genjutsu that is entirely based on what you experienced as a baby. That was what happened in that fateful night in Konoha, and I am pretty sure the Kyuubi will tell you the same. Besides, I took a calculated risk that worked for two main purposes: first, defeat you by wearing you down mentally and physically through experiencing the truth and second, to activate something that should give you an additional boost in combat, your mangekyo sharingan. You experienced so many bad things in the past that I felt you could probably awaken the Mangekyo from that after re-experiencing one of those memories. I apologize for the cruel method though and I have to compliment you on breaking the Tsukuyomi," I explained, ragged with exhaustion as my heart's beat began to slow back down from the fast pumping. The soft dirt cushioned my legs and hands well from their exhaustion and drain especially after another bout of sickness. 'It was about to fail, but still Naruto, I doubt with your Mangekyo that you could be influenced by jutsu while knowing it. I lay my back against the lip of the crater, the earthy smell comforting my nerves, soft yet offering ideal support so that I could relax and regain strength. I began to question what I should do with the few remaining years of my life. 'Should I spend it with my love Ayame and marry her like the Fourth and live as normal as a life while training or advising Naruto? Or should I try to find my brother. I don't know how much more my body can take and without the proper cure, I may speed up the sickness and die.'

A noise snapped me out of the daydream as I stared at the blue sky peppered with soft white clouds. I blinked and looked back at Naruto who had started collapsing to the ground. It couldn't have been more than a handful of seconds either. Though what worried me the most was that his eyes had began to roll up. Before I could do anything about the collapsing blonde shinobi, another figure with long, glistening blonde hair caught Naruto in her arms. Worry creased her smooth face and blared in her sky blue eyes. 'Ino, heh, I know I can count on you when it comes to Naruto. You know, you aren't the only one who can determine crushes. And besides, I am quite sure Naruto likes you, so why don't you do something about it.' I grinned to myself, already knowing the answer and enjoying mentally teasing the girl to relieve my tired head.

As Ino lied Naruto gently on the ground and tied bandages and healing salves to his wounds, while using a couple healing jutsu on the worse ones, particularly the fractures, the deeper gashes, and micro tears in his ligaments. After she was sure that Naruto was alright, mainly by the content light snores of the boy she gaave a small smile of satisfaction before facing me with a completely changed expression. "What was that, Chi-sensei? Or should I call you Itachi," Ino growled as flames licked her eyes. Fists clenched tight enough that knuckles popped while chakra began to gather around her fists clearly to pump up her impact strength by quite a bit or maybe even use chakra scalpels on me. A little spark of fear that I hadn't felt before ignited in me at the threatening presence and killer intent Ino now radiated. Every alarm in my body blared danger, yet I made sure to seem unfazed.

"Ino, look, Naruto tried to fight me and couldn't do it effectively despite me toning it down a few notches. I decided to up it a bit more so he rose to the challenge. Eventually he was using solely the chakra of another, more ancient being within him. It did do a number on me with the massive fireball attack and when I noticed that, I decided to end it with my Mangekyo," I summarized for her in a non-chalant tone, knowing she had seen all of it. I knew that she didn't really do much because of the level of the battle, meaning I would need to train her. Killer B may be able to train Naruto when I couldn't. The down look in her face made it all the more apparent, saddening me a little. "Look, Ino, I will train you and teach you, alright? Just give me a half-hour to rest, eat, and recover more chakra. I'm a little worn out and also am a little sick," I said with a light, sympathetic tone. I couldn't forsake and forget about my other student.

Ino gave a confident look, arms crossed sky-blue eyes now steel-blue indicating her determination; perhaps her disappointment as well. "Okay, Itachi, but can you teach me a couple combat jutsu. I need to be able to fight effectively and honestly taijutsu and medical jutsu isn't going to cut it," Ino reminded me matter-of-factly, though not in the annoying tone that I would've expected. She nodded when I gave her the directions to the large-but well concealed-cave so that she could prepare properly. Turning around, she walked back to Naruto and picked him with the utmost care, probably using her chakra to enhance her strength and began to carry him to the campsite. About a dozen steps into the process, Ino turned around with another look, this time more of a sweet one. "Hey, Itachi-sensei, could you teach me the shadow-clone jutsu? It may help speed up my training," Ino asked batting her eyelashes, making me practically face-palm she didn't need to do that for me to agree. She only made herself look like an airhead, which wasn't the case for the most part.

"Sure Ino, I'll teach you the shadow clone technique, but only if you have enough chakra to make it worthwhile and helpful as well as starting with summoning one perfectly and building your way up from there. If any of those aren't possible I won't teach you the technique," I replied, setting down the restrictions in the most serious tone I could muster. Truth was I already knew the answer but I wanted her to worry about it a little because why should the rest of the world be in a good mood when I'm not. My arms and torso stung and ached as the fatigue and pain from the cuts, burns, bruises, Mangekyo, and the use of copious amounts of chakra surfaced. I cursed silently that my adrenaline was already wearing off. Now I'd have to use more chakra to get rid of the discomfort and make sure I don't get infected. Next time I sparred with Naruto I'd go full on offence and strike fast and hard.

"Itachi, quite the pair of students you got there, don't you?" Killer B commented a couple minutes after Ino had left the clearing. The voice of the tall hulk still got some getting used to since the baritone-tenor voice didn't match with the expected gravelly low husky voice of someone with a lot of brawn. As testament to the that fact, B's boots crackled against the ground as he stepped through the rubble of shining glass, earth, rock, and sand from the battle between me and Naruto. The potholes, scorch marks, gashes, and barrenness to the clearing made it look like a war zone. "You've got fox-boy-Naruto-who's the only jinchuriki of the nine-tails that has a Sharingan, a Mangekyo I might add. Then you've got Ino, who's quite the sensor, medic, and controller kunoichi who can back up you and Naruto in a fight by finding hidden enemies, healing, tracking, immobilizing, and distracting via using an enemy's teammate against him. And from what I can tell, she learns fast," Killer B lectured with a you're-so-lucky look; clearly his team didn't impress him...much.

"Well, B," I sighed, "You can help me with Naruto if you want. You know, teach how to control the kyuubi and all that to maximize his chakra. Plus, we don't need Naruto to snap and go on a rampage in tailed-beast mode." The cool, set-back, carefree tone to my voice clearly put an edge on B as he shivered from the less than sane tone of a psychopath. And from experience, they usually wrought bad news, Orochimaru being the best example. I looked through the sunglasses into his eyes to make sure to know how B really felt. After all, if he didn't want to train Naruto, he could be careless or even make him be weaker considering they were from different non-allied villages.

"Alright, B, you pass," I exhaled after seeing no hint of malice in the jonin. Nonetheless, even if he was repaying me a favor, I decided to watch the man. Sometimes your friends can become your worst enemies and I had no shortage of those. Fully recovered and ready to begin training Ino, I stood up and stretched my body to release the stiffness and tension. I made my way out of the clearing towards the hidden cavern. The leaves whistled as a breeze rustled the trees, a calming sound like the peaceful surf as it breaks on the beach. Fresh air mixed with sweet pollen from blossoming flowers and the sharp alpine scent of coniferous trees as I bounded from tree limb to tree limb. The grey peak of the large, rocky hill peaked just above the canopy, a beacon guiding people home, approaching rapidly.

After about two minutes of the brisk pace, I caught sight of the small clearing and the small river that wound through it. 'Waterfront property,' I joked with a small smile, aware that the mouth of the cave was just three meters above the water and twenty times that far. Beautiful peach trees, cherry trees, oaks, and a few pines ringed the clearing, while smaller ones, providing shade and fruit. In addition, raspberry, blue berry bushes, and thorn bushes ringed the hill, though they avoided the mouth of the cave, and grew in random patches in the clearing. Wild and "domestic" flowers and rich marsh grasses grew from the banks of the river to the house carved into the very rock of the hill-mountain, giving an illusion of beauty, peace, and happiness. Sweet, wild, fresh aromas of the pollinating wild flowers, fruit trees, and berry bushes. Busy buzzing and fluttering of hard working bees and butterflies as they sucked nectar and pollinated the plants. Birds chirped melodies through the trees, caught by the beauty of the small patch of undisturbed paradise. While a small herd of does and baby deer roamed and grazed on the grasses lower down the river bank, fish hopped out of the water as a small school of coho salmon came up the river.

I gave a sad smile as I saw these happy families, untainted and unbroken by the outside world. At least they had not gone through what I had as I longed for my family once more, but it would never be. Though Sasuke was family, I doubted that he would accept me anymore after not revealing myself to him. In fact, it may only spur him towards the darker path and cause him destroy places like this, so the only family I truly had was myself, Ayame, Tuechi, and maybe Naruto. I smiled at the memory of hearing Kushina and Mom saying that they would give birth a week later and that Mom would be Naruto's godmother. 'Poor Naruto. Things would've been much more different if anyone allowed you to be adopted and if Kushina had time to finalize it,' I thought sadly. I couldn't stand the way my younger-brother in spirit was treated as a demon. I made sure to protect him the few times I could and did things for him from buying presents to giving him treats. A warm tear fell as I remembered getting Naruto his first ice-cream and playing ninja with him on the playground. I am not sure if he remembered me from that time, but it made me happy that I was able to help someone.

"Hey, Itaci-sensei!" a loud girly voice shouted full of energy. I couldn't help but crack a small grin when I say the blonde waving her arms a couple meters from the mouth of the cave. Rather than revealing all the skin that she usually did, Ino added thin mesh armor on her arms and legs; still, though, it hugged her body and curves a little too tightly for my taste and the mesh leggings didn't exactly help either; not with that provocative pose she was in.

If anything it only made her more attractive, 'GAH! You can't think like that Itachi. First, you are going to propose to Ayame and second, Ino is like five years younger than you,' I thought almost going for my kunai to gouge out my eyes. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, massaging them to prevent from getting a migraine. "Alright, Ino, I'm ready to train you," I said with confidence after leaping clear across the river and landing on the other side. She just looked at me in utter shock. The river itself was about fifteen meters wide and I had just cleared it from a stand-still without using much chakra. Her eyes begged the question how. I only responded with a flashy, charming smile, knowing the effect it would have on Ino. It was clear she liked or admired me, but she would need to get over it, so by doing this it will help her concentration and willpower. "Okay, in order to do the shadow-clone technique, I want you to go into my mind and watch what I do. Do not try to take control of me, just observe," I ordered with a warm tone making the necessary seal.

Ino nodded, not questioning me, and used her oldest trick, which made her consciousness travel in me. "Okay, I'm here," she said from inside my head not taking control of me. As she realized the chakra I had at my disposal her jaw dropped. "How are you able to use more jutsus than Kakashi can when you only have as much as he does?" she asked incredulously. My inner-self could see the stars in her eyes, automatically aggravated by this.

"Two reasons. Very close to perfect chakra control and slightly more powerful chakra. This allows my jutsus to be more powerful and use up a lot less chakra," I replied as if I hadn't noticed the admiration and infatuation in her voice. "Watch closely as I do the jutsu, Ino, go it?" When she agreed, I molded a small chunk of chakra and split it into three different sizes, before copying my image into them and expelling them. In a cloud of smoke, three clones appeared in a triangle formation with me in the center. "You got that, Ino?" I asked.

"Yes, I think I know what to do. The only problem will be replicating it, I think," Ino said with a sad-ish tone, which made part of me want to comfort her and another pissed off that she was trying to manipulate me. 'Kami! Now I understand why Sasuke didn't like Sakura or Ino. She quickly left my body and returned to hers, getting up ever so slowly to the blood from rushing to her head. The genin dusted herself off and readied herself, taking a deep determined breath that countered my suspicions from before. "Shadow Clone Technique!" she exclaimed as I viewed the chakra that she churned and split with quite the control. However, the amount of chakra that she pumped into the technique wouldn't suffice. The one clone that Ino summoned appeared to be the same but almost as soon as it landed after dodging a kunai, it dispelled.

"Ino, this technique requires a lot more chakra than what you applied. Unlike normal clones, these are solid and take a certain amount of chakra to remain in a solid state and be robust," I lectured. "Any additional chakra will be stored in the clone for its use. Also, once dispelled, you its memories." The completely surprised expression on Ino meant that I clearly had not given enough information before hand. Go figure, I have one who will screw up given information and another who will screw up if not given enough. 'Fate, if you would kindly appear before me right now,' I prayed, mustering all the innocence I could. When nothing happened, my hopes felt dashed. 'If only you would appear so I could repay you BY GOUGING OUT YOUR EYES AND TURNING YOU INTO A KUNAI PIN CUSHION' I thought as rage erupted.

Without my telling to do so, Ino attempted it again. Faster than before, she made the hand seal, channeled a large chunk of chakra and morphed it into the clone about as fast as Naruto. A large smoke cloud billowed around her, causing her to start coughing a little. As the smoke cleared, it revealed to perfect copies of Ino with a decent amount of chakra in the clone. Doing the math concerning the levels of chakra she had, I postulated that her efficiency limit with clones was five. Good enough for now, but as she progressed in control and chakra levels (growing as she matured), Ino would increase that efficiency limit. Of course her maximum was probably around a couple dozen.

"Well what do you know?" I said with a sly smile, "You can make a shadow clone. Now, what I want you to do is create eight more shadow clones. I'm going to speed your training by ten times. After that we'll see about your reward is for completing everything quickly," I said. I was going to leave it to Ino to learn fast. I knew already that it took Naruto longer than most to do certain skills because of memorizing hand seals and the control and such, but for Ino it should be much quicker. So, for each Ino in terms of learning speed, it was worth about six Narutos. If I trained her for a week like I did with Naruto, she wouldn't be too far behind.

Ino looked into my eyes expectantly and I motioned for her to go ahead, calm and expecting her to take it two at the time. "Shadow Clone Technique!" Ino exclaimed, dividing a much larger chunk of chakra and sculpting it through the seal. Almost immediately, a larger cloud popped and dissipated, the sight knocking me off my feet. Twelve other clones of Ino appeared around her and she wasn't even tired. "What do you think, Itachi-sensei?" Ino asked, knowing she had disobeyed me and was provoking me.

"Ino, perhaps you should explain to me why you disobeyed my instruction?!" I bit back in worry, "You know if you over use this technique you can die from chakra exhaustion? Which brings me to this point. How much chakra do you really have and why did you hold back as a student and a genin?" The glowering look I gave Ino didn't do much except cause them to stick their tongues out at me and taunted me. "I swear, Ino, with this attitude two things will happen: you will never become a shinobi and I will not train you."

Those words caught whatever ammunition Ino was about to launch at me, because almost immediately Ino collapsed on her knees with a wounded, sad, and vulnerable expression on her face. Clearly she was having some internal conflict within her, one with a drive to get stronger while the other preferred to be a pretty girl. It filled me with a pity I reserved for few. "Hey, Ino, I'm sorry I snapped at you like that," I apologized, squatting next to her and looking into her eyes, "I don't want to hurt you or your feelings. All I'm trying to do is help make you reach your maximum potential in as quick a time as possible. I can't do that if you don't trust me or remain closed about your capabilities."

"I know, Itachi, I'm sorry. It's just that I feel like I am being ripped apart," Ino mumbled, a couple tears escaping from her eyes, which she brushed away on her forearm. "I want to become strong and show my true-self yet another part of me wants to be a kunoichi only to impress others and get the attention of other guys. And besides, most of the time guys don't like it when girls are better than them," Ino continued the sadness in her voice not diminishing as more tears streaked down her face. She's probably been dealing with this for a while now.

I sat down next to her and put a comforting, sibling-esque hug. "Hey now, its okay. You're going to be alright," I whispered in her ear with the warmth of an older brother. 'Heh, looks like you're playing that with two people now. Way to overextend, Itachi,' I thought back; for some reason I couldn't stop myself from acting the part of the big brother. I kept comforting her, rocking her a little to calm her, like Ayame used to do for me when I got scared. "Ino, let me give you some advice like a brother," I began as the blonde girl calmed down in my embrace, "Don't worry about trying to be pretty (you are beautiful already) and chasing boys around or whatnot. Be the best that your potential allows and grab life as you go through it, as you do this everything will fall into place. And, the guys who are worth it, don't dismiss or dislike girls who rival their abilities; if anything, it entices them," I said the last part more as a conspiratorial secret between siblings that made Ino giggle despite herself.

"Thank you, Itachi-sensei, for that," Ino said with a big smile, the sadness and hurt disappearing from her eyes, "I promise that I won't hide what I am capable of. In fact, I want to show you something." The remaining clone walked next to her as Ino started channeling chakra into her palm and causing it to spin a little. "You better get ready Itachi," Ino said with a fiery smile as her chakra began to appear while the clone began to help.

'Was she about to do _that_ jutsu?' I thought, incredulous, eyebrows shooting up in surprise and shock. 'Impossible!'

* * *

 **A/N: Naruto's Mangekyo powers as per polls so far (either take poll or PM me) minus the special power I concocted**

 **1\. Kamui - 3**

 **2\. Kami no hariken - 2**

 **3\. Amaterasu - 1**

 **4\. Tsukuyomi - 0**

 **5\. Kotoamatsukami - 0**


	7. Unofficial Family

Chapter 7

 _"Hey now, its okay. You're going to be alright," I whispered in her ear with the warmth of an older brother. 'Heh, looks like you're playing that with two people now. Way to overextend, Itachi,' I thought back; for some reason I couldn't stop myself from acting the part of the big brother. I kept comforting her, rocking her a little to calm her, like Ayame used to do for me when I got scared. "Ino, let me give you some advice like a brother," I began as the blonde girl calmed down in my embrace, "Don't worry about trying to be pretty (you are beautiful already) and chasing boys around or whatnot. Be the best that your potential allows and grab life as you go through it, as you do this everything will fall into place. And, the guys who are worth it, don't dismiss or dislike girls who rival their abilities; if anything, it entices them," I said the last part more as a conspiratorial secret between siblings that made Ino giggle despite herself._

 _"Thank you, Itachi-sensei, for that," Ino said with a big smile, the sadness and hurt disappearing from her eyes, "I promise that I won't hide what I am capable of. In fact, I want to show you something." The remaining clone walked next to her as Ino started channeling chakra into her palm and causing it to spin a little. "You better get ready Itachi," Ino said with a fiery smile as her chakra began to appear while the clone began to help._

 _'Was she about to do that jutsu?' I thought, incredulous, eyebrows shooting up in surprise and shock. 'Impossible!'_

Deep thrumming rose as the chakra concentrated and altered, its intensity still frightening. 'Ino couldn't possibly be making the Rasengan, could she?' I thought still disbelieving what I was seeing. The clone quickly started to form the sphere chakra similar to the way Naruto learned how to do it, drawing the final straw as her hair swirled from the force of the swirling chakra sphere. "Ino, how did you learn the Rasengan?" I asked, just remembering how to speak, the words coming out without any flow.

"Gotcha!" the blonde's voice whispered in my ear as a molten-hot sharp pain flared between my shoulders. Limbs spasmed and gave out, the ground rising to meet my face, all the while cursing from the pain and temporary paralysis from the neck down. The grass softened the blow, but I still grunted as my jaw hit the ground first and shot sparks in my vision.

"Nice," I groaned to Ino, seeing her shadow, "I hate you for that, but nice." Still trying to figure out how she pulled it off, I relied on blffing to pretend I knew how she did it by dawning a cool cloak. The thing was, though, I couldn't figure out how Ino got behind me given the amount of time. 'And why isn't she using the Rasengan either? What the hell are you...' The answer hit like a freight train. "You sneaky asshole," I whispered to myself in shock at her genjutsu abilities and her control over them. "Ino, since when could you do a rank B genjutsu like that?" I asked with a groan, still suffering the effects of her sneak attack, "And what did you hit me with?"

"I used chakra scalpels coupled with boosted strength, similar to what Tsunade taught Sakura," Ino replied with confidence, a smile clearly on her face, though I could only see the river and the sky. I could feel the pressure of her hands tightening around my shoulders though I could not feel the fabric of my jacket or t-shirt. "Sorry about that, I just wanted you to tell me whether this combination was any good at all," she said guiltily before she began channeling chakra, cutting the pain of the muscle spasms and re-introducing my shoulders, arms, back, chest, and legs (respectively) to the world.

"Well, Ino, I think that that genjutsu is extremely effective as long as the enemy is unaware of your using a genjutsu because there would be no suspicion otherwise." I gave her an approving smile as I stood up, shaking off the last effects of the chakra scalpels. Ugh, I hated those things for their knack of immobilizing enemies and leaving them defenseless. I remembered the last time I had fought against a medic-nin using them, remembering the searing pain and lengths I had to go to to defeat him. I shivered and felt a slight suction of blood from my face.

"Are you alright, Itach-sensei?" Ino asked brows creased in worry, blonde hair and complexion still perfect, probably still thinking that the effects of the scalpels hadn't fully worn off.

"I'm alright, Ino. Let's just get back to training, alright?" I asked, wanting to teach her a couple of jutsus while she used the shadow-clones. I dug through my pockets searching for the smooth post-it size slips of square slips of paper, though only brushing the cold, sharp edges of shuriken and caltrops or smooth rounded pills of all sorts. 'Note to self: remember to organize before training students so you don't look like an idiot.' After a minute of futile searching, I gave Ino a hopeful look and asked, red-faced, "Do you know your elemental affinities, Ino?"

"Yeah, water and earth, why do you ask?" Ino replied arching her right eyebrow.

"Well, I want to teach you a couple combat techniques and to teach you to channel your chakra into a weapon or limb," I replied, stifling the sigh of relief since I didn't need to teach her what I taught Naruto.

"Really, Itachi? Asuma already taught me, Shikamaru, and Choji to channel our chakra natures. I never got to learn any jutsu, though," Ino responded with stars in her eyes, excitement surrounding her in a tight cocoon. Ino proceeded to pull out a kunai and channel some chakra into it, its blade visibly sharpening and getting tougher as she channeled her earth chakra through it without any difficulty.

"Nice job, Ino, but I can't really work with you on an earth jutsu, since I don't have any earth affinity. I can only teach you water jutsu which can be extremely useful especially when there is water around you. That way, you don't need to create water with your chakra, thus you can save energy. But anyways, Ino, summon two dozen your shadow clones. You should be able to master this jutsu in four hours," I said with a confident grin and looking Ino in the eyes so she knew I was telling the truth.

She gave a quick smile back before channeling and dividing her chakra. A smaller puff of smoke appeared as exactly twenty-five Inos stood before me. "Alright, bring it," the kunoichi said, a challenge all to apparent in her voice, especially when she cracked her knuckles for effect. Gone was the vulnerable girl, replaced by a doubly determined and effective genin.

I proceeded to tell her to copy what I did after going into my mind as she had done beforehand, seeing that possessing someone worked kind of like the Sharingan as it allowed you to copy a move based on seeing and understanding what a ninja was doing. Before realizing it, I had cleared an area on the river bank for training and stood still on the water despite the mild rapids.

"Ino, go into my mind and watch closely, alright? I don't want to waste chakra," I instructed without emotion, eager to get started. The blonde followed my directions as I felt our consciences fall in sync.

Quickly, I made the tiger hand seal and churned a large amount of chakra before injecting the water nature transformation. "Water Release: Gunshot!" I shouted as I released the highly pressurized ball of water, creating a bang as the pressure released and the water slammed into a boulder I had prepared to showcase the strength of the jutsu. Another loud crack as the water blasted the boulder apart due to the pressure and speed, sending bits of rock flying everywhere. I grinned at my own ability to mediate the amount of chakra necessary to accomplish something.

"That was awesome!" Ino's conscience shouted with glee, "I can't wait to us it!". Though I loved the enthusiasm, the boisterous and loud nature of her comment caused me to lose my concentration so that I plunged into the water as I took in a breath.

I sputtered and coughed as I surfaced immediately, giving Ino a stink-eye as she had returned to her body before I plunged inside the river. Only a minimal amount of water entered my lungs but it was enough to cause a coughing fit. Ino had a sheepish look on her face, regret and apology apparent in her sky blue eyes. I just gave her a slight death glare, ignoring the crushing pain on my lungs as water filled them just moments ago.

"Ino, start practicing the jutsu. I'll watch you from here," I sighed to release the pent up frustration I felt and began to tread water slowly, glad that the cool water washed away the dirt and sweat I had accumulated from the fight with Naruto and my usual morning fitness routine of three sets of a hundred push-ups, crunches, squats, and chin-ups all with hundred pound training weights. Finally I could relax, cool off, and wouldn't need to bathe or do the laundry.

Ino and her clones channeled and churned chakra and activated the tiger seal. They exhaled, but instead of a pressurized bolt of water, only a mist came out from the twenty-five Inos facing me. A flare of annoyance and frustration immediately permeated in the air. "WHAT THE..."

"Don't let your your frustration get to you, Ino," I interjected, stopping her sharp complaint in its tracks. "You won't accomplish anything with your anger, so calm down and try again. Be peaceful, but at the same time let everything like a river of water, as it is all about of fluidity."

"Whatever," Ino mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear. I just rolled my eyes and floated on my back, staring at the puffy clouds as they floated slowly across the bright blue sky. "Um, what are you doing, Itachi-sensei?!" Ino shouted, annoyance tainting her voice, no doubt at my floating in the water.

"Continue, Ino," I retorted sternly, giving her a glare that stopped her complaining once more, "I am watching you. I'll fix you whenever I deem it necessary, but keep practicing the jutsu. Just remember to cycle your clones every few minutes. And take solider pills when you run low on chakra." The tone free of emotion, Ino decided to follow the instructions.

 **Three hours later**

Ino panted, bent over and held herself up by placing his hands on his knees, as she dispelled the shadow clones around her to gain the last part of the jutsu. After the hundreds of uses and a few soldier pills, the weariness and fatigue of the kunoichi became all too apparent from the dark sweat-stains on her shirt and plastering her hair to her face.

"Hey, Ino," I said, "Try it just one more time. I think you have it. After that, feel free to join me." I gave her a large smile to fill her with confidence.

"I...don't think...I can, Itachi-sensei," Ino puffed as she caught her breath in a pained expression. I immediately felt bad for the blonde as I tread water harder to keep my waterlogged black pants and tank-top to keep my shoulders above water.

"Come on, Ino, you can. I believe in you. And look at how fast you improved, so don't be frustrated with yourself. You got this," Ayame soothed, goading Ino to persevere. She had come here after I sent a shadow-clone to the hospital to tell her where I was. I felt quite bad at just disappearing all over again. She gave Ino a bright smile as well, sitting on a rock that protruded into the river and caused her skin to glow with the evening's sun.

Ino, giving a small smile to Ayame with a thankful look on her face, made the tiger seal and churned chakra before exclaiming "Water Release: Gunshot!". A bolt of high pressurized bolt of water shot out of her mouth creating a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier and collided with a tree, exploding and crushing the tree and causing a loud crack as the tree's trunk splintered and buckled under the force of impact and explosion.

"Kami" I mumbled in awe, eyes wide at the spin and chakra she put into the meter wide bolt of water. The fact that a genin could master it in a few hours using the shadow-clone technique still surprised me despite what Naruto had done before with the different fire jutsu, wind jutsu, and sealing jutsu I had taught him. The only thing I could think of doing was clapping to show that her skill impressed me.

"Ino...great job," Ayame complimented, recovering from her slack-jawed expression. "I haven't seen that skill before Naruto, Itachi, and the Fourth Hokage," Ayame continued with sincerity, coating her words with admiration. Ino thanked Ayame and gave a tired smile as the fatigue returned.

Almost immediately remembering my offer, she pulled off the sleeved armored vest to reveal her tank top and stripped off her slightly heeled combat boots and let her feet walk across the soft sandy bank. The blonde ran and jumped up and ahead, straightening her body and stretching her arms past her head. She barely made a splash as she dived straight into the river a few yards away and quickly surfaced.

I gave Ayame a mischievous look and a sly smile, looking in her cinnamon eye and marveling how such a beautiful, kind, and smart girl ever became my girlfriend noticing the amber tan of her skin and her shining hair. Without a second thought, I splashed her with a big wave of water to catch her off-gaurd. She yet out a yelp as she lost her balance and fell wieghtless from her perch on the rock a few feet above the water...right into my arms, bridal style.

Ayame blushed a little at the loving smile I gave her and the few inches that separated our faces. Not able to resist Ayame, I pecked her mouth and let go gently so she floated on the water. Flipping so that her legs faced the bottom, she gave me a look that I wasn't accustomed to. Her headdived below the surface of the refreshing blue water of the river, out of my sight. I couldn't even feel her wake as she swam through the water. A slight sound of something breaking the surface before the loud splash as a wave of water took me by surprised from behind, arcing so that some even splashed on my face.

"Hey!" I half-shouted and half-laughed with jovial surprise. I launched myself forward towards Ino slamming the water with my feet, sending it in her face.

"How dare you, Itachi?" Ayame asked with mock outrage. She could barely contain her melodic, sweet laughter that made me turn around to face the beautiful brunette in her blue tank-top and shorts. She splashed my face three times in quick succession, so that I had screw my eyes shut and spit out water as I swallowed some while luaghing.

"Oh it's on!" I said with a big grin motioning for Ino to join if she wanted. I dove underwater, seeing Ayame's long legs tread water. Angling myself just right, I gave a quick kick upwards and glided straight up and grabbed Ayame's legs, pulling her down with me. I could hear the yelp since she wasn't expecting it as I surfaced. Ayame popped up a meter away from me, spitting out a little water before chuckling.

A jet of cold water hit me in the back of the neck, stinging and suprising me with the sudden shift in temperature. I spun around and saw Ino flipping the same series of signs before hitting me again with an extremely toned-down version of the water bullet jutsu, hitting me in the head with another stream of stinging cold water. My hair fell in front of my face so she couldn't see the death glare I gave her. Before the blonde could react, I opened a seal that I made as a kid, summoning a big water gun and sprayed the blonde genin with a jet of water, soaking her completely. Ino quickly ducked underwater, allowing me to hit Ayame with another jet of water soaking her as well.

"Hey, no fair" Ayame said laughing at the fun we were having.

'Naruto, come on and get over here. You'd have so much fun,' I thought willing the boy to wake up so he could join in. As if I had summoned him, a flash of orange and black smashed into the water, creating a large splash that hit me, Ayame, and Ino full force in the face. All three of us sputtered as the blonde boy flashed a crafty grin.

"Hey, Naruto, I thought you'd never join us," I said with a glad a smile.

"Heh, heh," he chuckled, "And miss this, Itachi? Not in my life." He laughed and splashed me in the face with another wave of water. I tossed the big orange water gun to him, which he rewarded with a foxy grin. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do what Ino and I can because of the heavier chakra cost and difficulty with controlling the stream's power. Giving me a thumbs up, he aimed and fired at Ino though the platinum blonde easily dodged the stream by ducking underwater.

Thinking it unfair, I activated another seal for a similar water gun and handed it to Ayame who gave me a smile as she tread water and filled the water gun. I turned around to find Naruto and Ino as I couldn't find them, scanning the water to determine whether or not a shadow was the silhouette of one of the two blondes. When a stream of cool water blasted my cheek and stung my eye, I almost leaped out of the water as a sense of nervousness and anxiety had captured me for no reason. I spun around and saw Ayame with a sly grin on her face that though drenched in water, held all her beauty.

"Hey, no fair," I complained with a teasing whine, "I thought we would be on the same team." She just smirked and cocked an eyebrow, letting down her guard for a second, which was all I needed. Jumping out of the water, shouted "Water Release: Water bullet!", spraying a continuous stream of cold water chakra with minimal pressure instead choosing to keep a quite long burst of it. The stream of water hit Ayame's head causing her to yelp in surprise at the cold relentless water, forcing her to put her arms over her head so that her eyes would not sting.

Landing back int he water, I emptied the blast in another ten seconds, kicking closer to the brunette before I ran out of water. As soon as the water stopped, she shook her soaked hair, stunning me on the spot especially with the late afternoon-evening sun acting as a radiant halo above her head. I couldn't help but stare at her gorgeous locks, soft skin, and perfect body in that breathless moment.

"Hey, Itachi-kun, watcha staring at, hm?" Ayame asked, her words dripping with mischief though her face contrasted those words with angelic innocence. A giggle escaped as I blushed beat-red.

"Oh, um, ah," I stammered and showed a sheepish smile, "I was only admiring you, Ayame-chan." Ayame looked at me, caught completely off-guard by the comment as something struck her, immediately causing an inaudible wince to escape my mouth. "What is it, Ayame?"

"Hmm? Oh nothing, really, it just reminded me of the first the day at the fair when you confessed that you loved me and where you asked me to be your girlfriend," Ayame said, emerging from her thoughts with a nostalgic smile plastered to her face.

"Huh, I remember, it was on that Ferris wheel that got stuck and the moon was shining on you, just like the sun was. And it makes you surpass all the goddesses in beauty," I blurted out without thinking using a voice that reminded me of the innocence and shyness I possessed when I first noticed and dated Ayame. I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself from reminiscing on the past since nothing good could currently come from it. I'd have made her only sadder. Instead, I wrapped my arms around Ayame's body, warm and comforting like a blanket to a kid. "I love you, Ayame-hime," I whispered, a shiver traveling down her spine as warm breath tickled her right ear. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, a hot sensation as her blood flowed up to meet the kiss.

"I love you, too, Itachi-kun," the brunette whispered sweetly, cinnamon eyes locking with my own. And almost as if she could read every memory and intention, she stifled a gasp of surprise, sadness, and happiness all at once as she brought her hand to cover her mouth. "Itachi, whatever happened, promise me you won't leave and do whatever it is. I-I remember seeing that look in the Fourth's eyes t-that night when I-I was running away." I tensed, realizing she knew what I wanted to do, freezing me in panic and guilt, knowing very well I may not return from it. Seeing the hesitant vulnerable look, Ayame pressed on, "At least go to Tsunade-sama. The Hokage could help you. It...I just...Don't leave me here. And bring Naruto along. It's not that I don't think you can, it's what he can prevent and what he needs. You are the only real role-model he's had so far."

The whispered plea and prayer caught me off-guard, more than a slap to the face. She knew exactly what I was capable of becoming, as if she saw the blood-soaked hands I had with Akatsuki, the endless obsession with staving off the disease, the vengeance and redemption I sought, the love I felt towards others, even the aura of sorrow around me. And yet, she wasn't revolted by it all, Ayame only had concern where I thought she'd have fear and disgust, tearing away whatever darkness I had and purifying my thoughts with the only true remedy around. "I promise, I won't leave you now. I'll finish Blondie's training and I'll see Tsunade-sama. And don't worry, when I go I have every intention on coming back," I whispered the promise while I nodded with a new resolve.

Before Ayame or I could continue, a barrage of water collided, small waves and streams combined for maximum soak-age. I duved under water to orient myself, eyes blinded temporarily from all the moving water and unable to take a breath without choking. Two pairs of legs, both slightly tan treaded water not two yards on either side, one with more defined muscles, the other lithe. I grinned eager to get revenge. 'I've got you now, Naruto' I thought with an evil smirk and a kick to propel myself behind him.

A loud splash as water sprayed Naruto from behind as I broke the surface and preceded to blast him from up in the air. The orange water gun fell from the genin's hands as the jet of frigid water assaulted him without warning, releasing a scream that would've been good blackmail material. I steadied myself just in time for Naruto to turn around with a surprised-annoyed and jovial face. "Heh, heh, you shouldn't have let down your guard Itachi," Fox-boy chuckled, "It was too tempting an offer." A smirk crawled up his face as if he hadn't just gotten drenched and hadn't screamed like a six year old girl.

"Look who's talking, Blondie," I retorted in as smug a way I could muster, "You are the one who didn't expect a surprise attack and didn't follow-up. Besides, your crush - or should I say Ino-chan - over there needs your help." I pointed over at Ino who was getting sprayed by Ayame, frantically trying to do the hand seals and block the oncoming onslaught of water.

"H-hey, sensei, it's nothing like that. I don't have a crush on Ino like that or anything. We're just friends, that's all!" Naruto retorted, defensively waving his hands as red crawled up his cheeks, guilt and embarrassment painfully obvious. Note to self: Naruto is a horrible liar when it matters.

"Hm, I can see why you like her. She _is_ good-looking, determined, funny, interesting, and full of potential. You two are obviously made for each other. In fact, I should go tell her," I teased Naruto while I stoked my chin as if in deep-thought. A dark, savage and desperate killer intent fumed built up from the kid with every word I added. As I saw Ino and Ayame slow down, tired and laughing, a mischievous thought conjured itself and surfaced with a dark pleasure. I gvae a dark, humorous sneer at Naruto, fazing him for the vital second I needed. I yelled out to the two girls, "Hey, Ino, Naruto wanted to share something with you: he loves y-"

Before I could finish, Naruto cut-off the last words with a tackle, growling with pure rage and fury. I could only laugh at the assaulter who was trying, unsuccessfully, to drown me with a vengeance. A string of profanity and threats followed Naruto as I escaped his grasp and he pursued after me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught glimpses of a blushing Yamanaka, whose cheeks reddened more than the roses in her family's flower shop, wearing a cocktail of hope, embarrassment, shock, along with more complicated ones. Ayame sent me a confused look that said 'What are playing at?', which I answered with a grin.

* * *

After an hour of swimming and splashing around, we finally climbed out of the river onto the riverbank as the sun began to set while we dried off. I ran into the cave to prepare a fire and change, passing the hearth, beds, tables, fixtures, and skylights that I either bought or carved into the stone. In truth, the inside of the cave reminded me more of a mansion than a secret underground lair, especially with the wooden doors, wallpaper, kitchen, and a few good paintings. After all, I'd lived in and out of here for a total of three years. Once I dawned the same outfit, plus raven-adorned cloak and hair pulled into a ponytail, I rummaged through the chest that I salvaged before leaving, a gift that I had planned on giving to Ayame: a white and crimson silk kimono embroidered with gems and real gold and silver thread in the shape of ravens, doves, and roses. It was on of the few family heirlooms I salvaged from the massacre, besides the pristine yet century-old tanto, sword, and armor of a my great-great-grandfather's brother. One of the only Uchiha to marry a Senju and a hero and martyr to those who wanted peace, though both clans refused to speak his name.

I snapped out of it and decided tonight was not the night to give her the heirloom. It was still too early, I needed more time to think before I steer the relationship off a cliff. I left it int the drawer and went back outside, seeing that everyone had already dressed and had begun to converse, though Ino and Naruto blushed every time their eyes met, which drew a warm smile from Ayame, if not a couple giggles. Smiling, I decided to make something special from what I had caught and foraged from early in the morning, since fresh food tasted the best.

I prepared a pan-seared salmon teriyaki dish that I learned to make a year back that learned from a family that helped hide me and let me recover from nearly dying at the hands of the organization I betrayed. Roars of hungry stomachs came in from the cave entrance as the delicious aroma found its way, making me chuckle since they didn't expect this at all. With four bowls heaped with rice and salmon, I made my way to my two ravenous students and to the love of my life. We devoured our food life wolves, stopping only to speak and breathe, which caused some laughs to go around, especially when it came to my savage eating habits that suggested I had been roughing it for years.

The stories and dinner must have lasted hours because Naruto and Ino had fallen asleep entwined with one another, curled up by the warm, crackling fire. Their faces looked so innocent in the warm light that I couldn't help but smile and feel at home, as if I had gained a new family somehow; something that I had never thought possible in the slightest.

"Look at them, Itachi-kun," Ayame whispered, eyelids heavy and head resting on my shoulder, "They look so happy, just like we were at their age." I could only nod in response to her comment feeling a mix of happiness and sadness once more. I really needed to change my mindset of the past because it's not like I lost Ayame, I have her with me now and she did wait for me, still mourning and all. She whispered an "I love you" as she drifted off to sleep on my shoulder, which I only knew because of her deep and steady breathing. Sighing, I picked up Ayame very gently and brought her to my room, tucking her in the warm, white bed. I was going to sleep by the entrance in my sleeping bag. Realizing that I didn't have enough room for the pair of genin students who lay fast asleep, I put a blanket over them and a pillow under each of their heads before I went to sleep myself. Before closing my eyes, I remembered Ayame's words and agreed with her immediately as I drifted off.

* * *

Three long months of training went by, following the same daily routine of warm-ups, fitness, taijutsu training, and kenjutsu training with Naruto, Ino, and Ayame before following up with fuinjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and sharingan training with Naruto and genjutsu, ninjutsu, medical jutsu, and sensor jutsu with Ino. The two genin students made faster progress than I thought possible in every way imaginable. Not only did they grow closer together (as a team and otherwise), but they also mastered several jutsu with speed I never thought imaginable especially in Ino's case, who reached high Chunin/low Jonin rank from a mid-genin. Naruto, from a high C-rank ninja easily reached low A, high B rank with the help of the sharingan and the massive amounts of chakra, mastering multiple fuinjutsus easily and backing his rasengan with a big arsenal of all levels of fire and wind ninjutsu. Ayame though was the best surprise, her talent with knives and natural dexterity made her quite formidable with kunai, the tanto, and the katana. However, with each passing day, I grew increasingly tired and fatigued coughing up blood sometimes during the night and breaking random fevers; I couldn't shake the feeling that if I didn't go to Tsunade I was going to die in a couple years.

Anxiety also gripped me when I thought of the power that Sasuke must have amassed from Orochimaru and wondered when Naruto would be ready to face Akatsuki. His eye proved to be extremely powerful, almost reaching the power and predictive ability of two sharingan, while the new purple vermilion color remained permanent whenever the sharigan was active. He wasn't able to use any mangekyo powers yet and I wasn't about to unlock them for him since he still had so much to live for. I could trade an eye for his, though, amping both mine and his more than normally; yet something held me back until I knew exactly how his sharingan came about, considering that I had trashed the idea that Sasuke gave him one.

More importantly, I hadn't trained Naruto in the creation of a new Rasengan. It would be his only conceivable way to get to the top quickly enough and be able to catch Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Atakatsuki off-guard, since not even the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, was able to accomplish an elemental form. And with Naruto's two nature, no doubt that he would have plenty of variations, or at least I would've.

I sighed, opening my eyes and sitting up from the meditative position I had spent time in while going over everything so far. Up on top of the Hokage monument, just before dawn, the sharp fresh breeze and calm noise-free peace held the best recipe for meditation allowing thoughts to flow. 'As far as I'm concerned, the two most important things are getting Naruto to create the new jutsu, talk to Tsunade, and get Ino to combine her mind-control jutsus to a one that is lethal,' I thought knowing that the two blonde genins and I were close to being at our best shape to at least to defeat Orochimaru. Before my illness acted up again, I had absolute confidence in killing Orochimaru with both Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu. In this state though...I let a low growl escape from my throat at the slight feeling of helplessness. Rage at the weakness bubbled up, impossible to control or dampen. Lashing out, I punched the side of the mountain above the Third Hokage's head, launching a cloud of shards of rock, bits of stone, and dust following the deafening crunch.

The world stilled for just a split second, no noise or movement from even the crickets and animals of the night. It reminded me of something so familiar, the damage from the punch, the noise from it, and the silence of everything as if every animal was afraid of a similar wrath. And you know what, I laughed. I arched my head back and let out a barking laugh at the absurdity of all of this: the similarity of that punch with Tsunade's, the child prodigy's reliance on young teenagers to defeat an enemy, and the general irony of the whole situation. This especially goes for the Uzumaki having a Sharingan, since they were closely related to the Senju clan, the enemy of the Uchiha.

"Whatever, Itachi, you know what you have to do. It's the only way to ensure your own safety," I mumbled while facing the Hokage Tower. "Just a couple of hours and the Hokage will be there to talk." I took controlled breath to keep my nerves from exploding at the risk. 'If she finds out, I'm as good as dead, so I can't let that happen.' Closing my eyes, I channeled my chakra to do what I did best.

* * *

 **A/N: Naruto's Mangekyo powers as per polls so far (either take poll or PM me) minus the special power I concocted**

 **1st. Kamui - 3**

 **1st. Kami no hariken - 3**

 **2nd. Amaterasu - 2**

 **3rd. Tsukuyomi - 0**

 **4th. Kotoamatsukami - 0**


	8. The Snake Summoner

Chapter 8

As the golden-pink rays of dawn shown down on Konoha, warming the air, the noise of early risers and business owners filled the streets with light chatting, yawns, groans, and the tapping of sandals across paved and dirt roads alike. An older couple walked past me chuckling, there former beauty and graying blonde-hair giving away that they were Yamanka, causing momentary panic to rise within me before realizing that they weren't ninja. No headbands, no sign of former muscle, no absent-minded quiet steps.

Nevertheless, I couldn't help exhaling when they passed-by without as much as a second glance or sign of acknowledgement. At least my plan was working. I plastered on a contented smile similar to Naruto's and strolled towards the Hokage Tower at a leisurely pace despite the urge to bolt over there. I needed to play my part and not look remotely conspicuous - just another ninja - while playing the part of a new experienced ninja visiting Konoha. 'Plus, there is nothing to be worried about, right?' I thought.

Stuffing my hands in my pants pockets and gazing a little upwards, the delicious smell of dango snaked its way around the corner and urged a roar from my stomach. 'Idiot, I forgot to eat breakfast again.' I mentally face-palmed sourly, knowing that I needed to eat to keep up my constitution and strength, which I could not afford to lose a fraction of. I sighed and turned around the corner to get some dango, the first of many mistakes.

As soon as I turned around the corner, a large force bowled into me knocking me on my back. Something snapped and I let out a short stream of curses at whatever just ran into me. I hopped up and dusted myself off before looking at the culprit, preparing a slightly murderous glare, which fell almost instantly as the fishnet, revealing clothing and trench-coat registered.

"Mitarashi-san?" I asked in surprise, "Sorry about that, I didn't see you there." I gave the purple-haired special Jonin a hand and an apologetic smile.

"Um, yeah, just watch it next time," Anko said, flustered, pulling herself up with the hand held out by the stranger in front of her. "You aren't from around here, are you?" A suspicious glare from the woman kept me pinned down, despite my instincts telling me that there wasn't any immediate danger. It reminded all too much of a snake, not surprising considering the person in front of me was Konoha's other famous snake wielder.

"Yeah, how did you know?" I said with a light chuckle and innocent grin. Anko snorted, smelling suspiciously of dango. Two things connected at the same time. One, Anko was ninja and knew what was going on, and second, I could use dango and her inquisitiveness to my advantage. It would be much better to go in prepared with background knowledge to at least sound believable.

"Look, if you were from here, especially if you were ninja, you wouldn't be so nice." The kunoichi looked away for a moment showing that it was indeed a soft spot. "However, I am not surprised that you know me, considering that you are shinobi. It's easy to tell which is which from analyzing hands, eyes, and motion patterns," Anko added, answering my question in the process with a sly grin. "So how about you tell me about yourself over some dango. After all, you're the first to be kind to me in a while." Anko clearly wanted to learn about me more than anything and had begun to scan my eyes and movements, calculating everything as quickly as a snake would. Of course, someone who didn't have my experience wouldn't be able to detect it and it felt wrong to do so.

"Alright," I answered with a happy grin, "It would be nice, since I don't have any friends with me. Besides I forgot to eat breakfast." I chuckled a little, playing the happy-go-lucky shinobi who only changed when in a fight. My favorite signature that allowed people to trust me with ease and spill the beans. "It better be good, though. The town I came from had some pretty mean dango and I can't say I haven't been disappointed most of the time, Mitarashi-san," I added.

"Ugh, stop calling me that," Anko groaned with a frown. "It's Anko..."

"My friends call me Chi," I supplied the alias for her. The kunoichi scrunched up her face in amusement at the name, which sounded a touch too feminine to be true. "But my name is Karasu," I added qucikly seeing the hint of mischief and disapproval in Anko's eyes. A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead when she didn't react for an anxious few moments. Finally, when Anko nodded in approval, I exhaled knowing that I would be alright and not made fun of. Although I loathed to admit it, my ego couldn't take much more bruising at this point without some 'unfortunate accident' from happening.

"Alright, then, Karasu, follow me." Anko turned and began walking towards the joint, curvy hips swaying side to side seductively. I couldn't help but watch her as a few lecherous thoughts conjured themselves, captivated by her..ah...proportionate and attractive features. "Hey, Karasu, won't you join me?" the purple-haired kunoichi half-purred, half-chuckled, turning to face me, while batting her long lashes. A knowing, flirtatious, sensual pout flashed as she caught onto the staring eyes of the stranger.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I chuckled, trying to hide my embarrassment and nervousness, though a burning face did little to help. 'Ugh, focus on getting information. Besides, you have Ayame-hime, your girlfriend, though it doesn't help that both of you are still virgins.' My thoughts continued to trail down similar paths as I followed Anko, sometimes arguing for staying faithful and other times for polygamy.

"Okay, Itachi, we're here," Anko said with both hands on her hips, as we arrived a couple minutes later.

"Wait, hold on, in there?" I asked with a questioning look directed at the girl. She nodded her head in conformation. "So you're saying that the best dango is in a rundown pub probably full of a bunch of veteran shinobi and shady characters?"

"Hey, first-off don't go offending me and the people I associate with, second being a judgmental jerk doesn't suit you, and third, never insinuate that I am stupid if you plan on having kids," Anko quipped with a hint of menace and hurt. In fact, a subtle spark of offence flashed in her eyes for a brief moment, barely showing her weakness.

'Just like Naruto. Angered by jerks, questionings of motives, and insults to friends,' I thought with a small smile. "I didn't mean that, Anko, it's just...I have had bad experiences in such places, but if you say its the place I'll take your word for it." The young woman raised an eyebrow as if to ask for an elaboration, which I was hesitant to refuse. "Let's just talk about it over some sake, if that's alright, Anko," I replied with a small sigh.

"Aww, sweetheart, you just said the magic words. I'll accept your offer of a date," Anko said mixing humor, sarcasm, and sincerity in a confusing cocktail accentuated with a flutter of eyelashes that mirrored my erratic heartbeat and a pinkish-red blush on her cheeks.

To my dismay, her words caused a feeling of dismay and regret to come crashing down as I realized just how deadly Ayame was with her kenjutsu and natural uncanny stealth. 'If Ayame ever finds out, I'm dead.' I gulped at the thought of the cold-steel of a ninjato at my throat. Shaking off this feeling, I chanced at hooking my arm around around Ayame's waist, considering we were a few inches short of touching already.

"Well, Karasu, aren't you the aggressive one. You like to make your moves fast, don't ya'?," Anko whispered, her warm sweet breath tickling my ear, with a conspiratorial voice, though she made no move to break away from the contact, "consider yourself lucky that I didn't stick the kunai in your side." I must have let out a confused noise because the pressure on my left side ceased as Anko revealed her black throwing-knife.

I wiped the false smug smile from my face and gave her a genuine grin anyways. "There is one thing you must know about me, Anko, I love to live dangerously. Don't you?" I whispered, brushing my lips against her ear as I leaned in, immediately assaulted by the unique blend of leaves, honey, and pine needles that was her scent. As I made the flirtatious gesture I added a bit of good-natured humor and friendliness to the gesture to show that I wasn't trying to be too pushy.

Anko shivered at the touch, pink rising to her ears, defying anything I knew about the woman from when we were friends and teammates on occasion. She took a deep breath as I moved my head back and we walked into the bar. "Look, you're a new to this village and nice and all, so you have to understand something. And I really hate to say it but let's say that I have two reputations: I'm a bloodthirsty psychopath and I...uh...have a reputation for sleeping with quite a few people," Anko confessed in a whisper, effectively stopping our progress. There was a sense of nervousness, shame, and frustration in her words that begged an answer.

This time it was my turn to exhale. Angered by what others thought about my former friend and part-time teammate while on the Anbu, I turned to face her, looking deep into Anko's chocolate-black eyes. "Look, Anko, I couldn't careless about your reputation in this village nor what others think of you. All I care about is who you are. And, frankly, all the villagers and shinobi who think of you as a slut and a crazy psycho can go to hell. We all have our mannerisms and ways to cope with things that happen in our lives," I consoled with sincerity. The purple-haired chuunin just gave me a look of awe, confusion, sadness, and endearment. It took a moment to register that her stillness signaled that she was thinking about something. "What is it that's got you worried?"

"N-nothing, sorry Karasu what you said just reminded of a comrade and close friend who had died five or six years ago. And you look so much like he would have, that I forgot the difference," Anko confessed hurriedly and slightly discombobulated.

"And who was this person? He sounds like a good guy, someone that I would get along with quite well," I asked, curious of whom she was referring to. I had an idea, but it probably was a long shot

Anko inhaled a shuddering breath as if it still was a sore spot. "Itachi Uchiha," Anko replied finally, sadness tainting her voice, "A ninja prodigy who became an ANBU captain at thirteen, who, despite his talent and ability, was one of the few people that made me feel human and treated me as such." A sad smile crawled up her face as she reminisced on the past.

"Huh, Itachi Uchiha, the name rings a bell," I said as if remembering something, "I could've sworn I knew him. The guy had a few issues and a few accomplishments, but treating people that were idolized and disdained/ostracized as normal people would have been the most notable accomplishment; I should know, since he showed me that side." The knowing and familiar look I gave Anko was by far one of the most honest things I did. I could't help but feel the rush of gratitude and regret pool within me; I had given a gift to another person, yet let them down once I fled. 'Perhaps this is Fate's way of making things right and giving me a second-shot,' I thought as we finally walked into the bar, my right arm around her shoulder in a protective manner.

"Huh, look what the cat dragged in!" a low gruff voice shouted, clearly drunk, drawing three dozen pairs of eyes to the couple that just walked in.

"Looks like the snake bitch got another man in her coils," another, younger man added. Anko rolled her eyes and held my arm to herself to prevent me from ripping the burly, short ninja's head off. "If I were you, pal, I wouldn't get attached to her. It never lasts long, since she is a-," the young cocky asshole added.

That was the last straw. Before Anko could blink, I had launched myself in the man's direction with an unsheathed wind-enhanced tanto, flying over a couple tables. I smashed the guys face on the table, followed by an audible crunch as his rose shattered and a yelp of pain as I yanked his head up by the hair just as fast. "You better choose those next words carefully, now, bastard," I growled, pressing the blade to his neck, the wind edge cutting his throat just enough to draw some blood. I didn't give a flying fuck about the man's life after the comments he made, pure rage allowing the killer intent to erupt intensely.

The man practically whimpered and proceeded to burst into tears as if he could read my mind. "I'm s-s-sor-sorry. P-p-please forgive me I don't wanna die," the man begged hysterically, tears trailing down his eyes.

"You sorry excuse for a man, you wimpy-ass bastard, you are pathetic. I don't want you to apologize to me, I want you to apologize to Anko Mitarashi and maybe I'll let you go without making you wish you were dead," I spat barley able to restrain myself as I fought the red haze tinting the corners of my vision.

"WHAT?! You're crazy! I will not disgrace myself so much by apologizing to that sl-" the burly man exclaimed, completely forgetting the tanto and man who threatened to use it.

I was about to press the tanto deeper in his throat, red haze descending over most of my surroundings, when I heard the rustle and slight swish of a kunai being thrown. I spun with a roundhouse to the man's head as I faced the kunai and caught it by the handle. Two loud thuds and groan cut through the silence as this occurred, right heel having smashed into the bastard's head and sending him crashing into an empty table, bowling it over.

"Karasu, that's enough. I think the rest get the point," Anko said coolly, arms crossed over her chest, clearly having thrown the kunai. "For the rest of you, take this as a warning. Ever fuck with me again or give anymore shit and next time I won't stop Karasu," she raised her voice glaring at the people in the bar, eyes ablaze with fury, and venom in the snake summoner's voice, "Now go back to whatever you can go back to whatever you were doing." Everyone followed her order, while she walked over to me and led me to the back corner of the bar far away from everyone.

"Look, Karasu, I appreciate you standing up for me like that, but you didn't need to. I can take care of myself," Anko whispered as we sat down at the booth and ordered two bottles of sake, two glasses, and two orders of four dango sticks each from the waiter. "Besides, what the hell was that? You didn't tell me your skills were that good. You better start telling me the truth or this won't end well," Anko threatened.

"Alright, well, I have been a jonin-ranked ninja for only a few years," I confessed casually, telling the truth, "And there is no way in hell that I am going to let people hurt those like you. Itachi taught me that. Besides, I like you, Anko. I know we just met each other, but still, my instinct on these matters is never wrong," I added truthfully and sincerely.

Anko blushed a little pink, though she tried suppressing it, that made me blush as well as I realized how my comment could be taken. "Huh? Well, that wasn't the answer I was expecting," Anko breathed a little hitch in her voice. I had never seen her like this and it made me wonder just how much she had changed. "I'm not so used that, I guess, especially kindness from a guy like you. I mean you're a handful of years younger than me and can clearly get any girl you want and you're quite the ninja," Anko sighed, attempting to explain. I raised my eyebrow at the last part to hint at my confusion, which she picked up. "I was lying that I didn't know you're skill and rank. I just wanted to confirm if you were indeed the same Karasu mentioned in Kirigakure's bingo book."

Before I was able to say more, the sake and the dango arrived, steam dancing from the latter with a honeyed delicious aroma to boot. Mouth watering, I took off my black jacket adorned with a white raven on the front and a larger cerulean and silver one on the back. As I stripped both the jacket and the non-restrictive mesh-armor shirt, I spied Anko staring at my body, not hiding her hungering-with-desire and shocked expression. I couldn't help glance at her body as well and the feeling of arousal from her stare. Heat rushed up to my face, though some rushed down towards my nether regions for obvious reasons; after all the woman before me was extremely attractive. The lustful gazes lasted for few moments before our eyes caught the other's, causing us both to look away and flush bright red.

Sitting down, I noticed that Anko was a little to embarrassed to talk, making me realize that I was wearing a tight fitting thin tank-top that was transparent enough to see my physique. I mentally face-palmed and reminded myself to not takeoff the mesh armor next time. "So, Anko," I said, breaking the awkward silence that fell between us, "I was thinking of playing I game while we wait for the dango to cool off."

"Alright, I'll play, but only if it's not a children's game and only if you tell me what the catch is," Anko replied a little skeptical.

"Don't worry Anko, I'm not going to make you do anything or ask for any favors. Unless you'd like to ask me for favors if you win and vice versa," I replied with a small smile. As Anko grinned and blushed a little, I realized the double meaning of the statement and immediately felt my face burn in embarrassment. 'Why do you do this to yourself, Itachi? Stop saying and doing things that seem sexual, idiota!' "Anyways the rules of the game are simple. We each can take turns asking questions and answering them. The person who is asked a question will take a shot of sake before answering and has to answer truthfully. The first one who doesn't have any questions, can't drink more sake, doesn't finish/spills their shot, or forfeits loses," I recited, still embarrassed from the last comment and suddenly uncomfortable as I realized the person in front of me was wily and sly like a snake.

Seeing the discomfort, Anko flashed a smug grin before changing her face to one of innocence. "I think I'll take you up on the offer, Karasu-kun," she said in an innocent, sweet tone while batting her eyelashes. She grinned when I blushed even more than I thought possible, probably turning beet red. "And the winner gets to ask the loser for a favor," she added slyly before engulfing a stick of dango motioning for me to do likewise.

"Okay, you go first, Anko, as any question you wish," I said after both of us had quickly devoured the dango like rabid wolves. I poured a shot of sake for myself from a tall blue ceramic sake bottle, a jolt of confidence flushing through me. She had no idea of my tolerance. Every time I try to get hammered, I rack up quite the bill.

"So, Karasu, what is your age?" Anko asked, a glimmer in her eyes.

I slammed down a shot of sake in a gulp and licked my lips, savoring the surprisingly good taste of the rice wine. "Twenty years old, exactly five years younger than your beautiful self, Anko-chan," I answered, adding the last part to throw her off with the flirtatious comment and the fact I knew her age.

Unfortunately, Anko's sly smile didn't change. "Huh?" Anko said, as if storing it away for useful information later on. "Guess it's your turn."

"Who was Itachi Uchiha to you?" I asked casually.

Anko had to force herself to not spit out her sake at the unexpected question and gave me a disapproving look as she gulped the shot down. "Well, if you must know, he was a great teammate and a good friend and I cared about him very much," Anko grudgingly said, a dark look in her eyes. "Why do you care?" she asked. If she realized just how hard a question that would be to answer, she didn't let on.

I had to force the shot down my throat and force my nerves to calm down. "Well, he seemed quite important to you and he mentioned you and wanted to ask the same, so I figured I owed it to him," I answered making sure that none of this was a lie. I had wanted to ask this, feeling that I owed myself to ask the question. "On a different note, have you many boyfriends have you had, if any?" I asked.

"Heh, bad question, Karasu. I've had two boyfriends: Iruka and Kakashi," Anko answered downing another shot. "How many people have you had or wanted to have a relationship with," she shot.

"Too easy, Mitarashi," I taunted downing the shot. "Two or three depending: there was an Uchiha girl that I was forced into a relationship with, a girl from my village who was my girlfriend, and you who I'm thinking of having a relationship with." The answer clearly surprised Anko because she just gasped and sputtered quietly, unable to say anything. "What's the matter, Anko- _chan_ , cat got your tongue," I teased lightly with a smile. The best part of this was I felt less and less guilty about things as I revealed them, so the game was helping.

"Grr, whatever. Your turn," Anko said in a low threatening voice.

"So, what is the most recent urgent news concerning the leaf ninja?" I asked, trying to keep Anko on her toes and ask some normal questions.

"Well, Naruto Uzumaki and Ino Yamanka had disappeared a few months ago and are still not back. Tsunade and the Yamanka are still worried about this as are a Asuma, Kurenai, Jiraiya, me, and a few others. However, Kakashi says they are training with someone he trusts with his life," Anko said, confused as to why would I want to know. "So, why are you here? Don't get me wrong, I don't mind having you here and going on a spontaneous date with you, I just don't understand what business you have in the leaf village," Anko asked with a curious look.

'Shit, I'm done. I have to say that I need to speak with Tsunade to get missions and that I am training the two blondes with the way she clarified the question.' I slammed down the sake shot and began to feel a lighter and brighter feeling in my stomach. "I need to notify Tsunade for missions for my team that consists of me and two Konoha shinobi, which I've been training and whose names I can only hint at. They are genins and went missing not too long ago," I answered, noticing the mix of emotions that appeared on Anko's face, or lack there of.

"Whatever, Karasu, if it's for personal reasons you can just tell me. I'll let you off only on this one for lying," Anko said stone-cold, motioning for a response. I just confirmed what I said earlier expressing that it was the genuine truth. A surge of surprise, confusion, and recognition appeared on her face as she said that though what I said sounded crazy she was willing to accept it as the truth.

"Okay, so does anyone know where Sasuke and Orochimaru are at the moment?" I asked, noticing that Anko still didn't seem too shaken and only seemed to calm and not be close to loopy drunk yet.

"No idea, but probably not far from Otogakure." She smiled a little at me thinking of what to ask next. "So how many girls have you kissed?" Anko asked.

"Wow, getting personal, Anko. I've been kissed by six girls. I've kissed four," I replied downing another shot and started to feel the buzz hit. I few more and I'd be drunk for sure. 'Might as well let her win, anyways, so I'll just ask some random questions like hers.'

"Anko, how many men have you slept with? I won't judge, I just would like to know," I asked tentatively adding the reassuring gesture.

"Well, everyone thinks I've slept with the whole village or something, but I only slept with about ten guys and a couple girls," Anko responded, seriously cutting down how many I would've thought considering her reputation. "The two girls were only because I got drunk and a little crazy and I was just having a faze." Her face told me that she meant what she said. "Let's see, Karasu, on a scale of one to ten how attractive do you think I am."

It took all my willpower not to spit out the sake despite the question. "I'll go with a 9. I've never met a girl who was a ten before and that would imply that they are essentially the apex of attractiveness in all of history. So I think you are extremely attractive Anko," I confessed with a blush beginning to feel a drunkenness. Anko blushed and gave me a wry smile. I could tell she had a little more than a buzz, but definitely better than me. "Okay, considering everything that you know so far, what's your top 5 list of people you'd like to go steady with in the history of ever," I asked slightly stupid and slightly eager.

"Well, well, well Karasu. Finally you ask, don't cha' well here it is: 1st is Itachi Uchiha because he had every quality that I look for, 2nd is you because you have similar qualities, 3rd is...probably Iruka (he dumped me but that doesn't mean I don't like him), 4th no idea, 5th none." Anko's simple answer made me blush in drunken excitement, and I could tell from the way the words fell out of her mouth that she was getting drunk as well. "What about yours, Karasu?"

"Alright, 1st is a tie between you and Ayame, 2nd is Temari (she's turning eighteen soon after all), 3rd is Kurenai, 4th is Mei, 5th none," I answered to the best of my ability. I noticed Anko's cheeks flare up bright red and couldn't help but feel the same reaction at my own words. For some reason, I felt drunk for certain, realizing that I had gone two shots overboard and that now I wouldn't be able to think straight. "Uh...this is a waste of a question, but are you a good kisser?" I asked. It took me a moment to realize what passed through my lips, though only a small part felt surprised. Her lips were so tantalizing.

Anko took another shot and there was a look in her eye that couldn't be mistaken for anything but drunken lust that I was sure I was radiating as well. Anko stood up and slid next to me with a sly smirk and a wink. The kunoichi leaned in close and locking eyes with me. "Well, that is very subjective isn't it Karasu," She leaned ever closer to my face with every word so that her lips and mine were tantalizing two inches apart. A weirdly sweet and enticing scent of honey, pine, alcohol, and sun rays wafted into my nose, as began breathing in Anko's scent. Before I could register it, Anko shot forward closing the distance between us. Her lips locked around mine and began kissing me, aggressive and demanding. Instinct snapping through the shock, I kissed back with the ferocity and need, pulling her down with me as I leaned against the wall, her body flush against mine to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips and bit my bottom lip, so I opened my mouth to let her tongue in. I groaned at the pleasure from the aggressive and needy kiss, completely different from that induced by the sweet, gentle kisses with Ayame. This was fiery and explosive. Without meaning to, my right had roamed underneath her trench-coat along the soft warm skin of her back while my left hand untied her hair, letting it cascade down in purple waves. She did the same, burying her hands in my hair and drawing patterns on my neck and between my shoulder blades.

Though it felt like a few seconds, we parted breathlessly and sloppily, some saliva falling from each other's mouths. "Wow...just wow, Karasu, how did you learn to kiss like that?" Anko panted, wiping saliva from her mouth, "No one has been able to keep up and match me like that. I have to do most of the work usually."

"Because that is how I used to kiss. It usually caused them to melt. In any case, the answer to both our questions, Anko-chan, is that you were amazing," I said with a goofy smile.

"Hey, I never asked a question," Anko protested halfheartedly before realization struck her; she had asked an implied question.

"So, why do like Itachi so much?" I asked in a way that gave something away for a brief moment that she caught on to. Surprise lit her face but also nervousness and contentedness.

"I told you that already, but whatever. He was handsome for his age and no doubt looks like you minus facial hair and he had kinder eyes-no offense. He was the only that cared about me and treated me as someone special and as a person. I looked up to him since in some ways he was older than his body let on. And finally he was caring and respectful of people. His physical condition and melodic voice would be identical to yours," Anko said, excitement and frustration breaking up all of a sudden, "Which brings me to this: cut the crap and tell me who you really are, Karasu, or should I say Itachi." Her voice was more critical and excited than angry, but it was still their with a glimmer of hope and nervousness.

'Dumb-ass, at this rate the whole village will find out. Fuck it, you have to tell her and spend time with her. It's all your fault she feels hurt. Also, you need to get not drunk. Meet with Tsunade this evening and spend this part of the day with Anko.' I sighed at pushed all the confidence I could and dared look Anko in her burning eyes and let the genjutsu faze out so only skilled Chunin or higher could see through it and revealed my sharingan. "Yes, Anko, I am-" My face snapped to the side, my cheek flaring in pain.

"That's for being a bastard and not telling me you were still alive, asshole," Anko growled, "I feel like such an idiot right now for not noticing earlier. Of course you're still alive, I never found your body. And I even kissed you while you still care for Ayame who is probably your girlfriend. You know you are such an-" Her eyes shifted from murderous and frustrated to something different entirely. "Holy shit, I won, I frickin' won," Anko muttered in awe, "So now you owe me big time for lying to me about saying you didn't have girlfriend in Konoha. I can get total revenge on you, Karasu-kun."

Chills shot down my spine in alarm and horror at what she may do. "Hey, Anko, would you ever marry?" I asked honestly and just to throw her off.

"Not for a while if I can help it," she answered, "Wh...Oooh, I get it, you like both me and Ayame. You were going to propose to Ayame soon and now that you found me again you are going to ask me to be your girlfriend. And unlike what most people think, unless Ayame is cool with it, it's a no. However, that's only when you propose to her. Before then, fine. It's your feelings and it's not a commitment or anything," she rambled as if reading my mind.

'Itachi, oh the horror, now you have three people you know who can read your mind. All of which are girls, and only one of which needs ninjutsu to do so and is your student,' I thought with a grimace. "Yup," I said simply, "I was thinking along the same lines, Anko," I said with a smile. "Do you mind if I spend the rest of the day with you?" I asked, to which I got an immediate passionate lingering kiss, a conformation that implied something different that I had expected. "

"Oh, btw the favor I am going to ask was that you make sure to tell Ayame before you propose if she is alright with this. In fact tell her this week," Anko said with an evil grin on her face. "Also, I can't believe how much you grew, Itachi. I mean I kinda knew you would be tall and handsome but not to the same extent as the man I'm looking at right now," Anko added, which made me blush as I remembered how she used to tease me about being the shortest and least experienced on the team despite being its leader and most able shinobi.

After a few more drinks and couple orders more of dango, I pulled out wad of cash and unfurled a few bills that would cover the expenses and large tip, handing them to the waiter who thanked us and was the only person out of the bar being remotely normal to us, especially after kicking ass and terrorizing the clientele. Anko and I walked out the bar, leaning on one another to keep steady, laughing maniacally whenever one of us would stumble. As we half walked, half stumbled down the street towards Anko's place, our drunken ruckus didn't go unnoticed by those in the streets. In fact, a few people asked us if we were alright before realizing that we were drunk despite it being about noon.

Anko stopped me as we got insight of her spacious apartment, mustering as serious of a look as possible. "Look, Itachi, you understand everything that I was serious about everything I said during the game, right?" Anko asked with a little urgency. I just nodded with a dumb grin that I usually had whenever I got drunk with a close friend. "I need to know if everything you told me was true, please," Anko said with pleading eyes while holding me in place by the shoulders.

She gripped tighter as she felt me move under her a little, causing a slight throbbing pain that punctured through my drunkenness. "Uuhhh, Anko," I said kind of softly (a little louder than normal volume, but I was drunk) and tapped her arms, which only made her squeeze tighter. "Can you let up a little, please. It hurts...while I'm drunk," I grunted, sighing as she loosened up the grip. "Of course I was serious, how could I not be, Anko. Your beautiful, kindhearted, serious, and a highly skilled kunoichi. I promised I'd tell you the truth and I did, just replace Karasu with Itachi and everything I said during the game would be true," I uttered, stumbling with a few words, still grinning stupidly. I reached up and ran my fingers through her purple hair, which she had not put back up into the usual two buns. An irresistible gleam shone in her black eyes like the bright stars in their sea of space.

"Karasu, not here," Anko hissed, halfhearted, as I tugged her into a warm embrace and lowered my head slightly to kiss her. "It's not good if people see us in public like this. Maybe after you speak to the Hokage and make the team official." A double-meaning echoed in her words as she gave me a slight drunken grin mirroring my own. We definitely looked like hopeless idiots.

"Okay, Anko," I huffed in exasperation, draping my arm over her shoulder and pulling her close instead, "But we got to hurry to a more private place, then." I gave her a mischievous and charming grin that made her blush in anticipation and her skin flare heat up wherever the skin of my bare right arm touched it. It took not a single urge more to get us moving quickly to her apartment.

Too lazy to climb the stairs, I used a kawarimi to get us to her door while hugging Anko. Appearing in front of the turquoise-colored door, the last of my self-control shattered. I pulled Anko into a deep kiss, more desperate than the one at the bar, latching onto her soft, sweet lips. Black eyes widened in shock for a moment from the sudden aggressive and needy kiss before softening into the kiss, smiling against my lips and closing her eyes. As Anko kissed back, a bout of energy and desire flared, making me shove her against her door. The sudden deepening of the kiss and pressure caused her moan in pleasure, which I took advantage of by sliding tongue into her mouth. I moaned as our tongues explored the other's mouth frantically. Rather than quenching the desire, it only grew as I pressed against her body and slipped my hands under her shirt, letting my hands wander across her bare skin, which heating up like fireworks at every point of contact.

Anko broke away and kissed down my cheek and jaw, before her teeth bit down tenderly on my neck causing me to moan as she continued lower down to the collarbone. Fireworks exploded wherever her lips touched and teeth grazed or bit. Urges to kiss back racked my body as she kissed every part of my face and neck except my mouth, swapping places with me and roughly slamming me against her door and inserted her key into the lock all while still kissing and keeping me from kissing her. A wily glint shone in her eyes as she noticed my halfhearted struggle, taking pleasure in the slight cruelty, though I had to admit I enjoyed the treatment a lot hence the groans that escaped my lips.

"Anko," I moaned, a plan forming into my mind. She hesitated, a quizzical look in her eyes, her lips hovering around my chin. Though it was only a moment, it was enough for me to latch back onto her lips biting down on her lower lip. This time she moaned and let her grip on me loosen just enough for me to escape her grasp and sweep her up easily bridal style, still kissing her and letting them trail down her cheek and jaw, walking in the general direction of the bedroom, which was obvious considering the open bedroom door showed a tidy bed. I couldn't help but notice the the turquoise and raven black coach, coffee table, love-seat, and wall paper in the living room. I nibbled on her neck, increasing the pressure slightly causing her moan out. A small part of me smirked at my getting payback.

Cerulean bed-sheets, pillows, and blankets stitched with black ravens intertwined with purple snakes brought a smile to the epic irony of it. I must have stopped kissing for an instant because Anko craned her head to see what I was looking at and blushed heavily at the picture of her, me, a kind-faced Hyuuga woman, and Hayate as a team ANBU picture as we celebrated my promotion to Anbu Captain. Another picture was me and Anko laughing as we ramen at Ichiraku's with Ayame. Yet another was me with a shredded sleeveless shirt that revealed highly defined muscle, hair blowing in the wind, sharingan active, determined look on my face, and a katana drawn in an awesome, intimidating stance. Leaves floated in the background, sky golden-red lit by the dawn sunrise. It brought me back six years ago just after taking out a group of four jonin, single-handed, on the first mission as captain while protecting a wounded Anko and Hayate-who had taken the picture and told us all to keep it as a reminder of our awesomeness.

"Anko, how long have you had a crush on me?" I asked her, putting everything together from the multitude of pictures to the bed-sheet pattern. I gave her quick kiss, still holding her bridal-style, enjoying the intense pink blush and embarrassment that made her looked lovely. "You know, some may frown upon it as pedophilia," I teased.

"How did you find out, Itachi? And pedophilia, you looked like and were as mature as a seventeen year-old. Plus you were an ANBU so you've got to be fucking with me when you tell me its pedophilia," Anko said with an odd mix of nervousness, excitement, embarrassed stammering, and outrage. Her excuses were funny and quite bullet-proof.

"No, or at least not yet," I replied cockily, taking advantage of the double meaning, at which she blushed even more and gave me a pat on the cheek. "It was quite obvious, just look at the bed and the pictures. Sure there are some of the team, but a large amount of them are of only me or of both me and you. Besides, the shirtless life-sized picture of me that's on your ceiling, coupled with the poster-sized one of _that_ mission make it a total giveaway." With the kind, flirtatious, and teasing tone, Anko smiled as she knew I wasn't mad and totally understood. We all have pictures those we like and idolize. 'I never would've guessed that Anko would be such a fan-girl, but, unless I want to be castrated, I probably shouldn't point that side out,' I decided.

"Good boy, Itachi," Anko said using the same voice that one would use with a puppy, as she lightly scratching my chin and smirked. "You didn't say that I was a fan-girl, because if you did, well, say good to your manliness." I just laughed at the sadistic look on her face and couldn't help but kiss her until spots danced across my vision and both lungs burned. A flustered Anko looked up, panting, "Kami, Itachi, I love you. I had a crush on you since we started doing missions together as ANBU. What? It's not like I could help it with you being kind to me and amazingly handsome," Anko confessed, dropping every shield and mask to show complete transparency.

"You know, Anko, I think I must have had a crush on both you and Ayame. I dated Ayame because I knew she had one on me as well and, at the time, I thought she looked at me more like a normal person and because of the age difference, which I was afraid would get you into trouble" I confessed, more than a little guilty. I could feel the alcohol wearing down, remembering that the medicine I took enhanced metabolism of food and alcohol by quite a lot and sped up cell growth and tissue and blood regeneration. Essentially, alcohol intoxication never lasted too long and hangover side-effects were hard to achieve since the alcohol burned fast to repair the damage from the disease. Unfortunately, this often killed the cheery mood and lack of contemplation that came along with being drunk, too. So when Anko blinked in surprise, I couldn't blame her.

"Um, alright, thanks, I think?" Anko asked confused and unsure what to say, head resting on my shoulder, "Was that supposed to be a compliment or something? I mean you rock for trying to keep the Uchiha clan from riding on my ass. But, look, it was better that you went with Ayame you wouldn't have understood me or my habits."

"Heh, good point," I said, not realizing how that would've changed a lot of things. I probably would've thought of Anko differently had I known those habits and not understood that people cope in different ways when confronted with loss.

"And anyways, Chi-kun," Anko said with a cute, innocent grin that hinted something terrible was about to happen, "I WILL NOT HAVE YOU PITYING ME OR ANYONE ELSE! SO CUT YOUR POUTING AND ACT LIKE A FUCKING SHINOBI!" Anko shouted menacingly at the top of her lungs, whipping out a kunai right at my face.

Thankfully, her drunken state allowed me just enough time to bob my head to the left so the kunai only cut a shallow streak of white pain across my right cheek; only for the woman's knee to com flying at my chin. Jaw clenched, I threw Anko up in the air so that her knee flew over my head while ducking. As she turned in the air from the momentum, I recognized the unmistakable coiling of a viper under her sleeve just as she flung it at me. With an open mouth and venom coated fangs, the green viper soared at an anstonishing spped, or at least for non-ninja. Unfortunately for the snake, I didn't plan on dying anytime soon. In one smooth motion I unsheathed the tanto on my back and channeled chakra through the blade as it sung through the air in the snakes path. It never stood a chance; a large spray of blood erupted, dotting both hands and face in red.

"Anko, your skill at taijutsu and your speed won't help you against me anymore," I sighed, eyes locked with my old teammate's-perhaps girlfriend's-eyes taking in their shock at seeing that I hadn't even activated my sharingan. "Unfortunately for you and Kakashi, not only have I learned many more jutsus and my skill at taijutsu, kenjutsu, and shurikenjutsu are exponentially higher, but also the son of the Fourth has inherited his need-for-speed and a single quite powerful sharingan. That meant I had to increase my speed even more." Anko hissed angrily at this since she had once been the team's speed-demon and master of dexterity; and it really ticked her off when someone surpassed her at that.

"Newsflash, Itachi," Anko whispered pressing a kunai to my throat, "You aren't the only person whose trained." She plunged a senbon needle into my neck and let a contented purr as all the hairs in my body rose in shock. Before she could remove it, my body dissipated in a light small puff of smoke leaving only air.

"Surprised that I learned the shadow-clone technique, Anko-chan?" I asked, chuckling at the look of pure disbelief on her face before turning to utter jealousy. I filed it for later as Anko shot at me with a punch. I moved up an arm to block the obscenely fast strike, only it never came. Too late for me do anything, Anko dropped and kicked out my legs from behind with a sweeping kick. Falling towards the bed, I only hand time to palm her arm and activate the transport seal. A full second later we appeared at a secluded training ground.

Before Anko could react, I ducked into a roll and attempted a judo throw, only for her to be replaced by a large branch. 'Fucking kawarimi! I forgot that I need to amp up my ability. I'm not fighting genin who have a lot of talent and potential but lack experience. This is a former ANBU and student to Orochimaru.' Without noticing it, my body and concentration adapted according to the circumstances. A deadly kunoichi like Anko could cripple someone in training if not careful or not matched by someone around their level.

The slight crackle of flames behind and to the right of me were the only thing that gave Anko away. Before the blazing inferno could collide, I replaced myself with a water clone, activating my sharingan and scanning for Anko just as the shadow clone erupted and doused the gout of yellow flame. A flash of purple and beige and the snake and tiger hand-seals gave just enough warning to launch a gale palm at the incoming enemy. Anko rolled out of the way, but before she could fully escape, I launched Naruto's prototype kunai, wanting to see if it would work. Just two meters away from the target, the seal on the blade activated propelling an explosion of dozens of senbon, kunai, and shuriken fanning out and at an increased speed, propelled by the current speed and an extra burst from the seal. I had made sure to blunt the kunai and shuriken to minimize the damage.

Too late to make a single handseal, Anko just launched herself with a blast of chakra back forwards and upwards. Again I found that the sharingan was the only thing that saved my ass as the kunoichi descended with a chakra strengthened drop-kick, following up with a flurry of chakra-enhanced punches. At first I was able to block the flurry of punches using the Uchiha taijutsu style, but as the attacks got rigid, more unpredictable, and staccato I had to push at my limit to counter her style. The last straw was driving knee to the gut hidden as a flying upper-cut. Anko's knee smashed into my stomach, causing me to double over and lose conciousness for a moment as a jolt of intense pain caused me to cough out blood and to eject every molecule of air. It was all I could do to roll with the momentum of the blow as I slammed into the ground, gasping, which kept her fist curshing my head, cracking the hard-packed earth instead.

"Nice (*pant*) fighting-style (*pant*), you perfected Oro(*pant*)chimaru's style," I said. I hopped to my feet and put my gaurd up, though leaving my hands loose. 'I have no choice but to use the new wind-and-water style I created. It's the only way to fight her while she's using that style, even though it's definitely not perfected,' I resolved, worried about the end result. I adapted it from the usual kenjutsu style I used that combined a fluid sword-dance combat style borrowed from the land of waves, land of wind, and the Uzumaki with Iaido. The kenjutsu style had few weaknesses and could only be matched by very experienced swordsmen.

As Anko came at me once more, I slid out of the way and drove my left fist to the side of her head. Tracking my movements, Anko ducked under the punch only to have her feet knocked out from under her with a sweeping kick. Turning with the momentum, I struck with a right ax-kick, slamming through her guard and kocking her back. Again I followed the momentum, but this time turning the speed on much higher. 'Now to add the wind and the Iaido component,' I thought even as I rocketed towards the surprised kunoichi now on the defensive. Only a few inches from Anko, I contracted every muscle for maximum power and energy, shooting my arm out at an insane speed to Anko's solar-plexus just an inch from her. Barriers of muscle and balance pushed back against the arm for a long microsecond then gave way from the sheer force and speed. Mitarashi crumpled at the blow letting out a gasp and rag-dolling through the air before collapsing on the ground. Seeing an opportunity, I rolled on the ground and flung a trio of shuriken at the end of the roll.

Anko still dazed by the blow barely managed to use a kawrimi to move farther away backwards, replacing herself with a stone that deflected the projectiles and resulted in metallic pings. Though I pitied Anko, who for sure was quite injured and shaken, I did not stop there. While wondering what other attack I should use, Anko got up shakily and wiped her mouth to remove blood and caught a couple moments of respite to gather chakra. Spinning chakra and compressing it into a tight sphere, I created a rasengan in my right palm-its humming of power hypnotic-and rushed towards Anko. Growls and curses of disbelief preceded Anko jumping back before I could strike her, launching a milk snake in the chakra sphere's path, killing the much less robust snake instantly and ripping it up.

Annoyed at this, I didn't register Anko's hand-seals before I could counter the attack with an offensive jutsu. Instead, I created three shadow clones and somersaulted away from her as six large snakes launched out of Anko's arm and crushed the clones before they could react. Another look of jealousy, annoyance, and disdain coupled with a hiss of deflation gave me an idea to fire her up like I did with Naruto.

"Looks like the white snake bastard didn't teach you that useful skill. Maybe I'll teach it to you, but the again you haven't proved yourself worthy, probably by focusing on another talent." The snarky smile and comment I shot at Anko was only to goad her to prove that what others thought was wrong and to show her own strength, though it always bred a little guilt. However, Anko snapped to the point that it was almost audible. Her determined and focused expression Her face turned killer-cold as a malicious chilling killer intent radiated from the snake summoner in waves.

"Fuck you, Bastard Uchiha! Why did I even think you were honest? I bet you just wanted to use me and get laid like everyone else," Anko spat in a venomous anger. Her curse seal flared up, causing her chakra levels to increase significantly. In a flash, she pulled out a tanto and channeled her fire chakra so intensely that the steel grew a little red while the flames were white hot. Just as she was about to lunge forwards, Anko stopped dead.

* * *

 **A/N: How do you like the chapter and story so far? Please PM me if you have comments and review. I am planning to put the first mission with Team Itachi in the next chapter.**

 **please take poll on my profile on Naruto's Mangekyo powers. There is one surprise one that he will have for certain. Has partially to do with kamui's space-time travel and the hirashin. Involves a new "mode". So far results are as follows:**

 **1st Kami no Hariken - 5**

 **1st Kamui - 5**

 **2nd Amaterasu - 2**

 **3rd Tsukuyomi - 0**


	9. Chapter 9

ITACHI'S VENDETTA Chapter 9

 _"Looks like the white snake bastard didn't teach you that useful skill. Maybe I'll teach it to you, but the again you haven't proved yourself worthy, probably by focusing on another talent." The snarky smile and comment I shot at Anko was only to goad her to prove that what others thought was wrong and to show her own strength, though it always bred a little guilt. However, Anko snapped to the point that it was almost audible. Her determined and focused expression Her face turned killer-cold as a malicious chilling killer intent radiated from the snake summoner in waves._

 _"Fuck you, Bastard Uchiha! Why did I even think you were honest? I bet you just wanted to use me and get laid like everyone else," Anko spat in a venomous anger. Her curse seal flared up, causing her chakra levels to increase significantly. In a flash, she pulled out a tanto and channeled her fire chakra so intensely that the steel grew a little red while the flames were white hot. Just as she was about to lunge forwards, Anko stopped dead._

Tears trailed down my eyes and I dropped the tanto. Sadness and disbelief filled my eyes as her words cut deep through my heart and soul. I could tell I had broken Anko and obliterated everything for her, not only hurting a loved-one and comrade. It felt like a thousand daggers impaling the heart and the body while being eaten from the inside by maggots. I wanted to die because I had broken the only oath I left that I felt bound to: protecting my precious people and those I cared for from friends/allies to lovers to family.

"I should really put you out of your misery, Itachi. You're sick because out of everyone you were the only one who manipulated me and pretended to care about me, even going as far to you say you love me and then have the balls to cry," Anko spat, rage burning so hot it was miracle she didn't combust.

I shuddered at her every word, beginning to believe that what she said is true. For some reason, it didn't even seem that far-fetched, which hurt all the more. 'Get a hold of yourself, Itachi, you did not do actually do those wrong things,' said a voice in my head that seemed slightly familiar.

'Great, know I am going insane to boot. I really need to get myself checked out by Tsunade,' I thought to myself. The slightly torn-up training ground fazed out to a grassy battlefield, which felt familiar yet not. Rather than Anko, a tall pale man with pale blue-eyes, a small pair of horns on his head, and long white hair stood in front of me. If I hadn't known any better, I'd have said the man was the Sage of Six Paths but his eyes lacked the Rinnegan.

"Who the fuck are you?!" I shouted in alarm, especially since I could feel the amazing power surging within him. "You look like the Sage of Six paths, but you can't be, since you lack the Rinnegan," I commented, raising my guard and activated my sharingan.

"Relax, Uchiha, I do not come to fight," the man said, his voice possessing a curious singing quality of tenor pitch. "Through it may be difficult to comprehend this, I am the spirit of his twin brother, Hamura. I have been watching you, taking on burdens that others would or could not lift despite your own troubles. You and I, Itachi are in many ways alike when I was around your age. Natural prodigies, yet focused on peace and attempting to be selfless. However, understand when you overextended, it can be fatal in your case."

His words cut deep, striking nerves I didn't know I had. On the other hand, the man was one of the first who could use chakra. "You have no idea what you are talking about, Hamura! I can take all the pressure. And while I may not be entirely guilty about what Anko feels, I did betray her. I fucking abandoned her and Ayame when I promised to protect and stay by my precious people. I also promised to protect the village of all harm, which I tried to do with Akatsuki. I failed everyone, even my brother," I roared at Hamura in absolute rage and sorrow, making Rat → Tiger → Dog → Ox → Rabbit → Tiger → Monkey seals and transforming a considerable amount of chakra into flame. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Crimson Nail!" I exclaimed, releasing a rapid fire cloud and blast of fireball-encased shuriken.

Hamura just stood there, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips as the large volley curved to attack from the front and sides. They collided, creating a blinding flash of blazing light and heat. 'Hn, a disappointment, Hamura,' I thought bitterly. Suddenly, a black ball of pure power flew out of the blaze at a blinding speed, allowing me to barely dodge it. "What the fuck?!"

"I told you, Itachi, I am the Sage's twin. You may be a great shinobi, but to me you are like a genin to Kakashi. Yet I sense a great potential within you that you haven't even begun to tap, Itachi. You also possess a hidden kekkei genkai but it does not work in the same way. It rarely surfaces and seemingly at random," Hamura lectured, kind patience on his face, "It's something that Naruto possesses as well. And trust me, once you tap into this and the potential you still have, the burdens will be easier to carry. Remember when all seems bleak and that there is no hope things will get better." The horned, pale man smiled and gradually dissipated along with my mindscape.

The world turned back from the peaceful, old battle field to the training ground where Anko stood. Her eyes blazed with pure hatred and blood-lust. The sword-whip curled around her in a blaze like a flame snake coiled to strike. Coppery, salty blood swirled in my mouth, surrounded by fresh tear tracks. I sensed that only a second had gone by since I dropped the tanto and knelt on the firm beige earth.

"Well Uchiha? What's wrong, can't take the truth," Anko spat with pure venom, a sadistic sneer on her face, "You are weaker than I thought."

I chuckled at her bravado and intimidation techniques. It was hilarious actually. She thought that her words and accusations hurt and that I was faking it, which was not even close. "No, Anko-chan," I replied lightly and shook my head, "It's not what you said that hurt. What you say that I didn't care about you and wanted to use you is pure fallacy. It hurts because I broke and abandoned you and Ayame. That I couldn't keep the village. That I couldn't keep my precious people safe. That is the truth, Anko! I wasn't able to keep my promises when people needed them most." Each word cut into Anko's resolve of furious killer rage and hurt, replacing it with something so alien, I couldn't place it.

She took a couple steps back, reeling in shock as those words sunk in. "Liar! Don't fuck with me or I swear I'll-"

I shook my head in utter disbelief but refused to let it get to me. I needed to make things right with her so I kawarimied behind the purple-haired woman, wrapping my arms around her waist in a light hug. "But I was given a second chance to fulfill these promises and make things right. And I won't stop until then, since I am strong enough to do so. I owe it to myself and everyone, especially you, the Third, and Naruto. After all, I dedicated myself as an ANBU and I promised that I would take care of those in forsaken by most of the village."

The snake summoner's struggling stopped, though the dangerous aura did not entirely dissipate. For one, though the chain sword's fire dissipated and the curse mark receded, Anko made no effort to move away her weapon. Her muscles relaxed enough to reassure, though tense enough to react if necessary. Impossible to read.

"Anko? Are you-ugh" I shouted the last part when a sharp jab from her left elbow slammed the side of my kidneybefore sweeping my legs up from under me. The ground rose up and collided with my back like a sucker punch, driving out all breath.

"That waas for what you said," Anko spat bitterly, "I don't care if that was to motivate me, it still had more cruelty than you can imagine." The frustrated glare turned quickly into one of amusement and glee at the sprawled body of her opponent. Before I could quite catch enough breath to roll away, Anko threw a couple kunai, tearing through the cloak to pin down her target.

"What the...Anko?" I asked in alarm, the glee and amusement on the purple-haired's face could not be good, "What are you doing?". I gulped to supress the nervousness. I could only see Anko in her trench coat, skirt, and mesh shirt, the tree green line, and the blue sky while a breeze carressed the sweat rickling down my brow.

"Oh, nothing much sweetheart" she replied so sweetly like an Academy fangirl.

'Shit I am so fucking screwed right now. I've heard before I fled that her methods of torture made Ibiki's pale in comparison at times. Or at least in terms of imagination,' I thought in a frantic panic that forced me to make a move to try a ninjutsu. A sharp pain and icy numbness shot up both arms before I could move them close together, long thin spikes glistening out of fore arms.

"Tsk, tsk, that won't do Itachi-kun," Anko shook her head in disapproval, eyes almost closed before darting open and gleaming once more. "I'm going to need to know everything I want from you and you'll answer..." a slight pause and a kunai thunked extremely close to my nether region, "Or you'll be a virgin forever."

'How does she keep that sickly sweet voice while doing this? I really need to get Anko a psychologist and fast to diagnose her. No way someone could take this much pleasure from torturing people.' "Alright, no problem here, heh heh" I replied trying to hide the worry in my tone, though I clearly failed. A pleading look sparkled in my eyes, to which Anko gave a slight grimace.

"Alright, now tell me, what do you want from Naruto and why are you training him?" Anko growled more than asked, a black carbon-steel shuriken between the four fingers of each hand.

"Wow, so you have to ask the only question that would really make me sound insane. Basically, it'll sound kinda pathetic like Kakashi's excuses for being late," I sighed, exasperated and trying to calm the little flutter of nervousness in my heart. Anko just dead-panned as if saying 'try me' before pulling back both arms as if about to throw them. "Alright, alright, alright. So, I trained Kakashi with the Mangekyo power he has in his one sharingan and so to repay me the favor after Sasuke left to join Orochimaru, Naruto somehow activated a sharingan. In order to most effectively save Sasuke (eliminating him if not possible), kill Orochimaru, and stop an organization of missing nin, I need a small but highly deadly team. Moreover, I feel that I owe it to Konoha to train its greatest asset and owe it to the Fourth to honor his last wish and to make him proud of his son."

A bloodcurdling aura of cruel menace flared as the last words left my mouth. Calloused knuckles cracked in anticipation. "Itachi sweetheart, that's a cool and admirable story and all, so I'll let that pass," Anko responded with a sarcastic giggle that didn't hide the venom of every word. "NOW TELL ME THE FUCKING TRUTH OR I WILL MAKE GOOD ON MY PROMISE!"

The thunderous shout sent flocks of birds flying out of the trees letting out a cacophony of flapping. The insects stopped making noise and small forest mammals squealed and squeaked in alarm, running away from the training ground. The sun's sudden sharpness in heat and brightness did not do anything to tone down the dark omens. Anko's tanned arms glistened with sweat and shook as if she had trouble holding back while her glare bored through my chest. That and the oppressive heat of the sun stripped away what little patience was left.

"Yeah, and why would I lie to you if my balls were on the line, Anko! Most people don't truly lie unless necessary or if the trade-off is in their favor, which isn't the fucking case!" I fed the fed the roar by releasing all the compressed times that people suspected me of treachery, subterfuge, and dishonesty. 'They can all go hell if they're too blind to see that I've experienced a life where the improbable was the norm. Honestly, maybe society and the world would benefit if a great majority of humans died because then the stupidity and blindness would quite hurting others,' a dark conscience piped up, the not-so-small part tainted by Akatsuki and the evil I committed. Sharp pops and cracks snapped from both fists pulled me out of the depths of hatred and darkness revealing a throbbing pain in my knuckles as if they somehow fractured a little.

"Whatever, screw you, Uchiha," Anko said and crossed her arms to hide whatever she felt, though the guilt shone through like holding translucent plastic to the sun for shade. If she expected that a little grumbling would do anything to change me she was completely mistaken.

Chakra broiled through my system just at that moment as if by impulse. Before I knew what I doing, a seal was in my right hand and released the katana heirloom, opening it up right in my hand, a boost of chakra flowing into it seemingly without expending any chakra. The blade burst into a five-foot blazing white inferno of a blade from the wind chkra's elongation and the flames of the fire chakra mixing. The sand next to the blade heated red hot from being next to the inferno. 'No doubt it will turn into glass. But how the hell am I doing...it's what Hamura mentioned, it has got to be,' I thought, the shock and amazement piercing through the focused mind that I tried to keep.

Anko froze for just a fraction second, completely shocked by the blade I had in my hand. To her eyes I had no idea what it meant but I knew she wouldn't be able to block the attacks with her weapons as they'd get hacked and melted through. In fact, her freezing up gave me the best opportunity I had yet to try the other mini fuinjutsu seal I tried. "Release!" I shouted and a dozen eagle sized ravens flew from the seal towards Anko with a flock of their brethren, hiding their summoner behind their feathers. I released one of the dozens of kawarimi seals I kept on my body, allowing me to do a poor-man's Hirashin combo.

The black birds dive-bombed Anko, attacking with their claws, though they knew they wouldn't be able to do too much damage. Mostly they were good for distractions, spying, clones, overwhelming, scaring enemies, and hiding shuriken attacks. In other words, by the time Anko had time to use her dragon fire jutsu against the ravens, I had almost completed the water dragon jutsu while drawing water from the massive amount I kept in a seal. The crows cawed one last time as flames engulfed the flock and incinerated them in a fraction of a second.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Just as the water roared as it spun and formed into a sea-serpent, rising tens of feet high, Anko wheeled around in surprise and horror. Before she could as much as open her mouth, I shot the dragon towards Anko, giving her only enough time to get out of the immediate point of impact. Deafening cracks and crunches burst as the dragon collided where Anko stood, tearing a gaping whole into the ground and erupting outwards with an explosive blast.

Purple and deep-brown blurred at the edge of the water, the explosion launching the figure across the clearing. As the water dissipated, a muddy crater, dozens of feet in diameter and about a dozen feet deep, was surrounded by crevices and debris that the water jutsu had tossed around. Not a sign of Anko. Dread pitted in my stomach, realizing that she might indeed be in critical condition from the impact.

That was before I heard a sputtering, choking laughter from the other side of the training ground. "Nice (*cough*) Itachi (*cough* *cough) but you aren't trying hard enough. Question is, how (*cough*) did you get that sword?" The most maddening part of Anko showed itself, laughing at her opponents as if they weren't good enough. It was especially maddening now that she was drenched in water and clearly hurt to some degree.

Rather than respond, I activated three kawarimi seals in quick succession as I charged at Anko, who threw volleys of senbon and shuriken at me along with using long ranged fire jutsu and bomb seals. Activating the last seal, I appeared behind Anko and hacked down with the blazing wind katana. The blade, however, slashed straight through wood, causing it to combust as well as slice in half. 'Damn you, Anko,' I thought, scanning my surroundings for my quarry. When I couldn't quite find her nor sense her chakra, I dropped to the last option on my list. "Alright, Anko, you're giving me no choice!" I shouted and activated my eyes. And thankfully too because I caught her camouflaged body just using the shadow clone shuriken jutsu.

"Wind Release: Gale palm" I mumbled and launched a blast of wind at the incoming horde of kunai, which blew off-course as the explosion of wind scattered the kunai across the clearing randomly.

"Dammit, Itachi, someday I swear you will lose your sharingan and then I'll finally be able to beat you," Anko complained in a teasing manner that turned serious as she caught me launch through the air with the blazing sword. She drew her sword chain-whip and channeled fire chakra, cracking it with intense speed.

I barely had time to lift the katana to respond, sharingan or no sharingan. The wind blade cut into the chain, though it only caused the whip's flames to intensify to almost match the heat of the flames of the katana. Rather than struggle with her movement to disarm the sword, I followed the motion of the flick before planting my feet and spinning the sword from the whip's grasp. I lunged straight at Anko as I got inside the range of her flaming weapon. I knew that if it were to grapple on a limb I would most certainly need an amputation, so being inside the range would make it harder to kill or block.

Anko pulled out a shorter yet straight katana with a blade about three feet long with her fire chakra. She smirked, knowing she had trained under perhaps one of the greatest sword masters in the Leaf for a couple of decades. However, the white-snake pedophile feared me for my than my sharingan, and for good reason. I outclassed him in kenjutsu and taijutsu. After all, no matter how much you can regenerate, being brained, a sword left in the heart, or cutting out a vital organ killed you. Now, though, as I whirled my sword with fluidity and blinding speed that pressed Anko's limits to the max and putting her on the defense, I began to doubt it. If Anko could keep up with her tanto and short straight-edged katana for longer, Orochimaru would be able to match me. As Anko placed a counter roundhouse kick at an opening in my side, which I blocked with the hilt to burn through the mesh armor, it hit me as so obvious. While I raged and fought, I kept using the Uchiha style and not what I learned.

"You know Anko," I said, blade clashing on blades as she narrowly blocked an overhead strike that notched her blades, "I just realized something."

"Oh god, Itachi, please don't say you love me right now!" Anko moaned in exasperation, yelping as my intensely hot blade grazed her shoulder. "If you do I swear I'll cut your tongue out right now. It would be worse than those Icha Icha novels."

I had to keep myself from laughing because Anko was completely right about that. Honestly, I probably would've expected someone to say that if I were in her position. "No. Just two observations. One: you may be close to rivaling Orochimaru in kenjutsu. Two: I am gonna beat you right..." As Anko blocked double bladed for the umpteenth time, I used the strike to leap/roll over the kunoichi. "...Now." Still facing away from the kunoichi, she let at a shriek of white-hot pain. Her blades fell to the ground and she fell to the ground, reeling in shock. The radiant solar-like blade had slashed Anko from the left shoulder to her right hip, making the wound cauterize, burn, and bleed.

"How the fuck did you do that?" Anko groaned barely conscious, her eyes revealing the torturous wound that looked terrible. Another problem was that now her torso was naked as well. I praised kami that I at least had highly effective quick healing seals that I learned.

I bent down and coated may hands in water chakra, massaging Anko's soft skin to clean the wound and quench the burning, while soothing the pain. "Hold still, Anko," I growled as she bucked and squirmed at the contact and massage, wincing at the intense pain. Her foot just missed my head that I lowered to look closer at her wound to make sure the burning was gone. I ignored the attempt and tied Anko's legs and arms so that she would be less troublesome.

Unfortunately I got the wrong response. "What?! Now you want to have sex, while I'm wounded and still bleeding and in pain. You're a sick bastard Itachi!" Anko didn't move to stop me however, knowing she didn't have to. Her words were enough to disarm me.

"Watcha' talkin' 'bout, Anko?" I asked, pulling out two seals to heal the bone, skin, tissue, and nerves along her back. The combination of two seals would heal her completely but would make me share some of Anko's pain and drain a lot of our chakra. I blushed furiously as I placed them across Anko's soft naked back, thoroughly embarrassed due to her comment. "Thanks, Anko, for your extreme faith and kindness," I replied sarcastically, more than a little hurt that she thought I would rape her, injury or no injury. 'Does she really think that badly of me?'

"You're welcome, sweetheart." Anko's voice seemed strained and judging by the tensing of the muscles, she would not last long. A faint apology lay in her words, at least conveying that she was kind of teasing with that comment. "Anyways, just finish patching me up or whatever you're doing already, Itachi, and get me to the hospital. Honestly, you're-." Anko's voice stopped and she gasped in utter surprise and relief.

"There we go." I let the warmth seep into a smile and dusted off my hands after activating the seal. "In a minute, you should be good as new. These seals work miracles, but-" I spat out blood as I felt the mangling cocktail of fatigue and white-hot searing pain. A painting of dark red dots splayed out on the ground to form a piece of abstract art. Sudden chakra drain mixed with Anko's fatigue and searing pain was too much to cope. Pain wracked my lungs, back, gut, skull, fuck it my entire torso felt like it got battered by an avalanche and burned by Anko's dragon-fire jutsu. I collapsed on the ground next to Anko, though my bare right arm and leg draped over her body in an unfortunate (or fortunate, if you're a perv) position.

Despite the pain and intense fatigue, the former of which gradually receded, a part of me enjoyed touching and having firm contact with Anko's bare skin and breathing in her scent, especially since she hadn't done anything about it. That minute was an instant and an eternity for obvious reasons. I gave a contented sigh as the pain completely receded, though the fatigue hit as hard as a bulldozer. I rolled over, as I heard Anko sigh in relief. I went to give her a hand to get her up before realizing that she was still bound by the strong and smooth silk ropes.

I quickly untied the ropes around Anko's arms and legs before she could comment. I extended a hand to help her up, which she took gladly. Mistake number two. Anko's torso was completely naked, her top and trench-coat lain out on the ground ruined and slashed down their whole length. And I had a full frontal view of her body. Mistake number three. 'Now I can die a happy man' I thought after taking her perfect beauty all in. Not really. I did take her perfect body and beauty in, ultimately fracturing any coherent process, besides turning around to give her privacy and hiding the fiery blush that spanned the whole of my face.

"Anko," I said and cleared my throat offering all the explanation of my walking a couple paces back and giving her her privacy.

"Oh shit," Anko muttered in embarrassment and I could practically see her blushing. "Ah well. Itachi, mind taking me back home doing whatever you did before?" she pleaded with a sweet tone that I could not resist.

"Okay, I will," I replied, "But, um, there's only one problem. You're half naked, I don't have any over clothes on me, and the jutsu requires me to carry/hold the person." I blushed a new shade of red at the mere thought.

"Itachi, it won't be weird unless you make it weird. Besides I don't bite," Anko said, the last part somewhat sensuous. I pointed to the half-dozen highly noticeable hickeys on my neck in response. "Alright, well, not that much or hard for that matter. Anyways you seemed to enjoy it." Anko's comments honestly made feel as if I overreacted, especially considering that I did care for, it would be for a couple seconds, and it was no big deal if I was professional about it.

"Alright, Anko," I said, cleansing my mind of whatever thoughts were in my head besides the jutsu and getting Anko to her house. I held her with my side facing her and did the jutsu, effectively transporting us half way across the village in a second. We were back in her cool bedroom that was plastered with pictures of me, this time making me smile happily. I let go of Anko and walked out of the room so she could change, but not before I grabbed my cloak and Anko kissed me on the cheek.

Hungry all over again, I rummaged through her kitchen and began steaming rice, sauteing vegetables, and cooking chicken. The fighting took a lot out of me and Anko so it only made sense to cook something, plus Anko deserved something nice. I smiled as I heard Anko sing a catchy melody though the words were muffled from the shower and the doors separating the bathroom from the bedroom and the bedroom from the kitchen. As the fragrant smell of the slow-cooking vegetables and chicken wafted around the room after a dozen minutes, a terrifying roar echoed from Anko's room. To the less experienced and those unacquainted with cooking, that sound would be disconcerting, if not frightening. However, when pertaining to food, such a sound meant that the customer or diner is hooked to some degree. I had maybe three hours before I would go to Tsunade so I wanted to spend time with Anko, talk to her, and do something nice for a change; I had to thank Kami for giving me the ability to cook well because people tended to be more forgiving if you cook them something really good.

* * *

"Where did you learn to cook like this, Itachi?" Anko asked, starting on her third bowl of chicken and rice. The noises and moans that she made as she devoured the food left no doubt as to her opinion of my cooking. Whatever hurt feeling had dissipated after she took the first bite. Now, though, she felt it fit to converse as she had not stuffed an eighth of a bowl at a time.

"Well, I would tell you but then you'd have blackmail on me," I replied with a smug grin on my face. Anko's face twisted in frustration, gripping her chopsticks like kunai. "But because I have more blackmail on you, I'll tell you, Anko. I took cooking classes while in the Academy and on the ANBU because I liked doing it. I thought it was fun and rewarding, which was why I cooked on the missions."

"Wait, that was you?!" Anko exclaimed, choking on her food. "I thought that was Hayate. Oh, and by the way, when I didn't know you were alive, I thought I was the last of our ANBU team."

I stopped dead in my tracks, stunned by the news. "So Hayate and Hana Hyuuga were killed. How long ago?" I asked in a somber tone suddenly not so hungry despite only having eating a bowl and half.

"Hana died a year after you left and Hayate died not too long ago, during Naruto's Chunin exam," Anko said unfazed by the question. She wasn't even cold, just accepting of their deaths.

"Well, I feel sorry for Yugao. She loved him after all. Is she around by the way? She was on the ANBU team with Kakashi, Tenzo, and myself before I joined our team." Each word made it clear that I wanted give her my condolences, though the silence did not bode well.

"Honestly, Itachi, don't go around telling people you are alive right now. People are very tentative of trusting people at the moment especially an Uchiha. Sasuke did not leave peacefully, rather he fought against Naruto and his friends when they tried to retrieve him. Moreover, he has joined Orochimaru, which does not help his case." Anko's somber tone hid her anger well, but the whitening of her knuckles gave away the anger she felt.

"Understood, Anko," I replied curtly before finishing the rest of the bowl of food. I began to inquire about the shinobi and the state of the village and what to expect from Tsunade when I revealed myself to her. The conversation held no hint of emotion, rather reflecting more of a mission debrief than anything else. It was clear that Anko did not agree with revealing myself so soon after being in the village urging me to keep up a lie. Once I mentioned that Tsunade would probably use Inoichi to determine everything, however, Anko finally conceded.

Reluctant to leave the comfort of Anko's apartment, I slowly got up nervous to go to the Hokage Tower now that the time had almost come. Anko's hardened teal eyes, catching the sudden reluctance and nervousness, softened and offered warm encouragement. "Come here, Itachi," Anko beckoned with a motherly tone, opening her arms. She hugged me tight and gave me a kiss on the cheek, Anko's warmth and scent remaining there. "You don't need to worry, baby, everything is going to work out. Tsunade will listen and things will go without a hitch." Finally, just as the butterflies died in my stomach and the sweat that threatened to break out stopped, Anko let go and ruffled my hair awkwardly since I was taller than her by a few inches.

With that last gesture, I shunshined right outside the Hokage's office window, which by pure coincedence happened to be exactly when Tsunade turned to look at the afternoon sky. Surprise followed by anger and killer intent flooded through the closed window from the blonde Hokage.'Why is it that the blonde kages are always the most intimidating?' I thought with more than a little fear. At that moment, Anko's words seemed to be sarcastic.

I kawarimied to the door of the office just as the great sanin shattered the glass of the window with enough force to launch the shards like shuriken. The office seemed cooler than the oppressive heat that had swept the outside, giving a feeling of calm when combined with the oak floors and doors and the cream-colored walls.

"Hey you! What do you think you're-"

I slugged the Anbu in the face with chakra enhanced strength and speed, surpassing that of Might Guy. Unfortunately, the blow only caught the side of the Anbu's face as he attempted to dodge, sending the shinobi careening into the door of the Hokage's office and shattering half of the cat mask. "Oh shit! I am sorry, Yugao," I exclaimed, shocked that I had just harmed an ex-teammate for little reason other than surprising me.

"How the fuck do you know who I am?" Yugao growled, drawing her straight-edged katana on her back. The anger on the kunoichi's face chilled the air in the room. Lesser ninja would have frozen or run in fear. She wiped blood off her lip and grabbed the katana with both hands and launched herself with amazing speed, the point aimed at the abdomen.

I shifted to the side and drew my own katana, deflecting the strike in that same sweep. It would've seemed easy, but it had taken quite a bit of effort to do that move, which I still had been perfecting, courtesy of the Land of Iron.

Yugao darted back to avoid avoid any counter strike. Shocked eyes met mine, mouth slightly open. "How - how did you that?" Yugao asked, dazed for a moment before recovering, "Only four shinobi have been able to block that before. Who in the world are you?" Yugao growled the last question, grinding teeth together.

"One keyword there: shinobi. And by the way, I'm in a different league than most ninja, including the Legendary Swordsmen." The determination and steeled gaze, cut off any argument and she knew it. And I knew she wasn't bluffing either, that strike alone would've impaled Orochimaru and Zabuza. But luckily for me, I'm above their league thanks mainly to the samurai's training.

"But you are a shinobi, that much is obvious, so what do you mean?" Yugao asked, curiosity and suspicion filled her words. When I didn't reply, the purple-haired Anbu continued, "I have yet to see that style, though it reminds me slightly of the Second Hokage's and the Uchiha's fighting styles yet there is..." She paused as if going through a list before her eyes bugged out in complete disbelief, "...Iaido! I have no idea who you are or your motives for the technique, but it's obvious you are trying to create a powerful kenjutsu style without weakness."

"All that from one strike, a punch, some foot work, and a couple sentences. Quite impressive, Yugao-san, because you are correct about almost everything. You assume one thing too many though, that being that I have a quarrel with this village, you, and the Hokage," I chuckled and as the last word passed my lips, the door flew off its hinges with a great crash. "Speaking of which, sorry for scaring you Tsunade-sama, I just need to-"

Tsunade grabbed a fistful of collar, large enough to slightly choke me, as she yanked me up six inches into the air. "Shut up and get in my office, fool. You think I can't tell who you are, especially with how you fought Yugao?" Tsunade growled, her eyes begging that give her an excuse to pummel me. Rather than waiting, she launched me into the blue couch opposite her desk with a painful amount of force. Storming into the room, Tsunade slammed the door shut, but not before Yugao could shoot a look of pity.

"Now, Itachi, give me a reason not to make you into a red stain on the office floor," Tsunade hissed, eyes flaming even though she clearly could not hold her own composure. "I know exactly what you've done and who you are. Infamous Uchiha prodigy, youngest Anbu Captain, suspect of Uchiha massacre since your body was unaccounted for, Akatsuki member, and brother of Sasuke Uchiha, what can I do for you?" The venom in her voice could have killed.

"Tsunade-sama, there are a few reasons why you should trust me and shouldn't kill me right now. One, I trained Kakashi in the use of the Mangekyo; two, I have been training Naruto and Ino; three, I am the only one Orochimaru fears and I want to kill him; four, I was one of the best and most loyal Anbu Konoha had; five, I know everything about Akatsuki, which is my enemy; oh, and six, you wouldn't be able to defeat me," I listed off with a cool, honest tone, putting only enough emotion to show that I was saying the truth. The last part though could be considered debatable, since she was one of the legendary Sanin.

"Okay, with what you have revealed to me, I'll let the last comment slide, but only if you tell me why you're interested in the Uzumaki, whom I consider family, and one of my students," Tsunade replied in a calm demeanor, though she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Oh, and one more thing, you better wish you don't bump into Kurenai because she will be able to see through your disguise easily."

I nodded in response and relaxed visibly. "The reasons why I came to talk to you are these: I need a medical treatment because I have a rare disease that I think only you can cure; I want to have me and my students to be a black-ops team and take B and A ranked missions; I need access to Naruto's family records/jutsu and the archives because I stumbled across something that could make him the greatest shinobi since the Sage of Six Paths." When Tsunade didn't react, I explained everything in precise detail, especially about Naruto's single sharingan.

Afterwards, Tsunade took a couple minutes to think and let it soak in. Finally, she lifted her head and smirked at me. "Itachi, before you had my curiosity, the n my attention, but now you almost have my faith. I want you to bring Naruto and Ino back here after I heal your disease. It should take about a week or so, so send a crow to deliver a message about what they should do and to come back later. Tell Ayame to come back, though, you are going to need a loved one near you for this because I'm accelerating the process to heal your disease tenfold. It will hurt a lot and it will feel like you shaved a few years off your life, because that is quite literally what happens as a result, so you'll live to ninety years at the very maximum."

If she was trying to comfort me, she failed on epic proportions. I shuddered at the very thought of what she was saying, but it clearly couldn't be avoided anyways. "Will any of my jutsu be affected in any way?" I asked, taking into consideration that it might alter my abilities as well. I prayed to Kami hoping that nothing would change.

Tsunade gave me a pitying look. "Of course it will, Itachi," she replied. There was no surprise on her face when I looked deflated, though the gleam in her eye told me that she hadn't told me something, so I kept from making a decision. "It will boost your chakra reserves and power. Whether you realize it or not, it looks like your chakra has been at reached half maximum capacity at most. I am assuming the fatigue and damage wrought by the disease kept you from reaching your maximum capacity and your body leached it to heal. And your chakra was weaker, a side-effect of the disease. Once I cure it though, few Uchiha would compare to your abilities."

I just sat on the couch spellbound and awestruck at her words. The fact that I hadn't been able to access to half my chakra and that it would be stronger when the disease will be cured made me excited. Something dark within me moved and I recognized it as the Uchiha curse, the lust for power that we possessed. And before it could grab hold, I squashed it. I would not try to take things by force because of the power I would recieve, too many Uchiha's have let that mistake consume them. "That what are we waiting for, Senju-sama?" I said with a half-grin, half-smirk, "Time to whip this cripple back into shape." Tsunade let out such a loud and powerful wave of laughter, she fell off her chair onto the floor. I couldn't bear but join in at what I had said. First off, I, an Uchiha, just asked a Senju for help; second, I had made a joke about being crippled, which would be the first time in a million years an Uchiha would joke about that.

"Hokage-sama, what's wrong?" Two voices chorused, barging into the office. The thump as she fell and rolled around combined with the gasping probably brought the two in because they wanted to talk. The most curious part was what Asuma had on his neck, which he tried to hide.

Looking at the couple another bought of laughter bubbled up from nowhere. "I knew it! Kakashi owes me three hundred ryo," I grinned looking at the two, before realizing my mistake.

"Wait, aren't you-"

"Itachi Uchiha," Kurenai finished, cutting off Asuma. Her eyes hardened and could sense she was about to launch a genjutsu at me. Upon hearing my name, Asuma channeled wind chakra into his trench knives, getting into a a defensive stance, almost between me and Kurenai. "What are you doing here?" the crimson-eyed kunoichi asked, her voice chilled and angry.

"Whoa. Hold it, guys, why do you want to kill me again?" I asked, incredulous. Before anyone could say anything, Kakashi shunshined into the office.

"Hokage-sama, I have something important to report," the silver-haired jounin said, before realizing the scene before him. Looking at Tsunade on the ground and the his two friends standing with cold killer eyes behind him.

"Yo, Kakashi," I said, "You owe me three hundred ryo, I won the bet." Kakashi's face was priceless, the shock on his face quickly turned to alarm when he looked over and saw what I had seen on Asuma's neck. With a sigh of defeat he fished out his black wallet and tossed me a wad of bills. The gloomy look on his face made it clear that he really did not want to be here because of what he'd need to do.

As if on cue "Kakashi, what do you know that you haven't been telling us? You've got some major explaining to do," Kurenai said, eyes flashing blood red. Asuma only grunted in agreement, too focused on whether I'd do something, considering I had come across them while still in Akatsuki.

"Um, before you kill Kakashi, guys, can I explain?" I asked, suddenly feeling guilty. I didn't want my first student to get killed by his teammates just because he didn't tell them about me. Four pairs of eyes refocused themselves, startled that the person semi-responsible for the conflict was still here.

"Sure," Asuma replied, gruff and icy, probably because of the grudge he still held about being not able to defeat the prodigy almost ten years younger than him. "But how about after you TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK INO IS?!" The rage consuming him would have made lesser ninja wet their pants and I had to admit that I cringed at the roar.

Kurenai quickly interjected by stepping in front of Asuma and hugging him, more to restrain him and calm him down than to show affection. "Why would you think that Ino has anything to do with the Uchiha?" Kurenai asked Asuma with a confused expression that bordered on aggravation. When she didn't get a response from Asuma, she shot Kakashi a look that promised death if he didn't explain what he knew.

Thankfully, Hatake didn't twitch or move a muscle, rather crossed his arms and returned a bored expression. As the staring battle continued, Kurenai's fists started shaking as if it took all her power to not let loose. Before anything could go wrong, however, Tsunade cleared her throat to get the Jonins' attention. "Alright everyone, quit acting like a bunch of winy six year-olds and calm the fuck down. Itachi, here, has been training Ino, Naruto, and, remarkably, Ayame for the past few months. Supposedly, he's trained all of them in tai-, ken-, and shuriken jutsu as well as improved their strength and speed by a lot. Ino and Naruto should be at high Chuunin level at the moment with Naruto being capable enough to take the Jonin exams, which I may consider. Naruto possesses a powerful Mangekyo sharingan that is not, as rumor had it, one of Sasuke's eye, while inheriting Minato's potential with fuinjutsu and speed. More importantly, however, is that Itachi has been training them in order to hunt down Orochimaru, Sasuke, and the Sound Four, along with Akatsuki, as a black-ops team. However, I would like to leave the decision up to you, Asuma and Kakashi." Tsunade's lecture had knocked all three Jonin breathless and annoyed at my plans for their students and their ability.

"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, I don't think Itachi has the capability to kill one of the Legendary Sanin, Orochimaru no less," Asuma replied in a clear-headed voice that made his confidence seem stalwart. However, his relaxed body language suggested that he could be swayed. Kurenai just nodded with Asuma while Kakashi gave me a heated glare before returning to a pensive position.

It was at that moment that Yugao chose to reveal that she had walked into the room. "I would beg to differ. If Itachi were to get into a kenjutsu and taijutsu fight I believe he would win without the need of his Sharingan." That made everyone, including Tsunade gwak at the blue-haired Anbu, begging for an explanation since Orochimaru was considered one of the best at kenjutsu and taijutsu from the village. "I don't know where Itachi picked this up, but his kenjutsu style lies heavily in Iaido and other samurai styles. He blended that with the Uchiha fighting style and elements of Uzumaki and Senju kenjutsu styles..."

"Making it virtually unbeatable," Asuma finished with a small grin, clearly appreciating my creativity to some degree. "Nice combination, Itachi, but the question is do you use a master-crafted weapon or just an ordinary katana." Another look that seemed like a smug smirk appeared on his face, thinking that he had me cornered. Wrong again.

"I do use a master-crafted katana in fact, though it was a family heirloom and I'd like Kurenai to take a look at the weapon because there is a genjutsu covering up something," I replied with an equally sly smile. With that I drew the katana, which began to form a wind and flame aura almost immediately. I shut off the tiniest flow of chakra in a panic to keep it from bursting to life. Fortunately, only Kakashi noticed it but he wisely chose not to comment.

"Nice blade," Asuma whistled, impressed at the quality of the razor sharp edge and the titanium-steel alloy making up the weapon. He took the katana from me and handed it to Kurenai who looked at it in awe, though obviously not of the make of the weapon.

"Huh, the genjutsu covering the blade is quite intricate and incredible. Now why would someone go through all this trouble to hide..." Kurenai said as she released several different genjutsu negations with different chakra patterns. The sight was quite remarkable, especially as the genjutsu lost its intensity and wore off completely. The weapon that she held now was truly a sight to behold. Not much of the weapon changed except the complexity and plethora of seals engraving on the sword, which would make a seal master like Minato have a wet-dream.


	10. Return to Leaf

Chapter 10

Itachi

"Hn, the seal on the sword is quite interesting," Kakashi said, balancing the heirloom by the flat of the blade with both palms. "This doesn't look like anything I've seen before from Minato-sensei or Jiraiya. And while the blade looks brand-new without a scratch, the seal itself is clearly old. The only thing I can gather is something equivalent to chakra amplification-which the Fourth attempted but never successfully-and chakra shape and nature transformations," he went on, the awe in his voice increasing with each passing moment. The white-haired Jounin was about to pass it to Tsunade, but not before I intercepted it.

"Thanks," I said with sarcasm before looking at the complex series of seals on the first foot of the blade and along the hilt. My heart skipped a couple of beats as I analyzed that it held the key to Hamura said. "I know quite a bit about seals myself and, Kakashi, you are right on both accounts. In addition, the nature transformation seals are wind and fire related, in a combination of sorts beyond just overlapping the two. I have an idea of what it might be, but there are a few things I need to go through first. I need to know the records of all the masterwork blades made by the Uchiha, the Uzumaki, and the Senju. This weapon was made around that time when the smiths and fuinjutsus were much more abundant and effective." Each word grew increasingly rushed though it kept an inquisitive and contemplating tenor.

The blonde Sanin gave me a baffled look. "I understand that the weapon is old, but a couple decades before the founding of Ko-"

"No. Much older. It's about twice that. Approximately two centuries old," I replied automatically, confounded by the fact that someone would use a genjutsu to hide something this big. A mediocre ninja wielding a sword of this caliber could defeat experienced and powerful shinobi, in theory. 'If I had gone by chakra expenditure versus intensity while fighting Anko, I could've easily overwhelmed her. The amount of chakra flow was minimal. If I dared channeled the amount I usually do...' I shivered at the thought of the result. The aura of heat would've melted rock and steel into slag, while the blade would've sliced and liquefied it.

"But that's impossible. A powerful ancient sword just simply forgotten, even by the family that possesses it...?" Asuma shook his head in disbelief as he trailed off and put an unlit cigarette to his lips.

"Under most circumstances, Asuma would be right, but with the genjutsu even a sharingan wielder would have difficulty detecting that the sword was different," Kurenai muttered to the group, her eyes looked searchingly on mine. "I think it would've been used to deceive enemies and take them by surprise." Most everyone nodded in agreement. The black-haired woman's gaze bored through a thick armor of confidence and self-control with ease.

I froze. 'She knows that there is something more I am not saying. That I already know who the sword belonged to. That the sword contains more power and secrets.' Beads of cold sweat broke along the back of my neck. One of Kakashi's hounds would smell the fear from miles away. With the intensified stare pinning down thoughts and actions, I forced a breath of cool air.

"Excuse me," Yugao said, a bit of a blush on her cheeks, "I think there is something that we aren't taking into consideration here. That the genjutsu was used to hide a secret from the wielder's descendants and relatives until the right one came along. There are chakra attunement seals on the hilt, so if the chakra didn't possess any of the correct patterns and flows, the jutsus wouldn't activate. And you only use those when trying to hide something." The words sliced across the room, butchering any hope of escaping without suspicion or a tail.

"That makes more sense, Yugao. So I would indeed quite high clearance at the records office and library, no?" I replied with a thoughtful look. Meanwhile, an internal war of frustration broiled beneath the surface. Anger and rationality brawled an endless battle, angry either at the suspicion I'd recieve or the lack of trust I held for comrades.

"However, we can continue this discussion after I am out of the hospital," I supplied before anyone could open their mouths. "And this cannot leave the room. I have a couple requests, though. Kakashi and Asuma, can you take your respective students back for the week or so that I won't be available. I have the training that I would like you to do for them." The two jonin nodded with a slight smile at getting to see the training methods I use and to see how their students improved. "Oh, and where might I find Jiraiya? I'll need help to train Naruto in senjutsu," I added before handing over the training regimen.

"I'll send for him, Itachi. Don't worry," Tsunade replied with a curt nod, further quelling any argument. "Now, I will post Anko and another Anbu as a guard for your safety and for the that of the village. You may want to dye your hair a different color or figure something out to diminish the similarities to the Uchiha so that even if people see through your genjutsu, they won't get suspicious." Lifting her eyes off of me, she looked at everyone else and addressed them. "You are dismissed. Send the reports via an animal messenger. I have to finish some business."

The Jonins nodded and shunshined out of the office. The blonde Sanin sighed as they left and visibly relaxed, shooting a light look. "Send your ravens to get the three you've been training. We'll start your treatment immediately afterwards. You remember the hospital, right?" Tsunade asked, her hard or firm demeanor non-existent. "Also, what color hair would you like? Can't be dark-brown or black," she added before I could answer.

"Yes and dirty blonde. It'll go well with the facial hair jutsu I made," I supplied with a humorous tone, to which Tsunade chuckled as if I had told a joke. "But seriously, I did make a jutsu that grows or shortens facial hair." Incredulity shot from Tsunade's face at the suggestion of such a jutsu. "What? It's useful as a disguise. It just isn't immediate, rather multiplying the growth up to thirty times the normal pace," I said, a little indignant at the Hokage's reaction.

"Alright, then, catch," Tsunade replied and tossed a golden bottle after rummaging through her desk contents for a couple minutes.

I read the label on the bottle with a picture of a well kept lock of dirty blonde hair. "So should I put this on now or should I wait?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Put it on now, Itachi, we are on a time table right now," Tsunade snapped, fidgety and annoyed, the frantic look in her eyes only leaving as I walked to the restroom. I rolled my eyes and closed the door in the tiny restroom and soaked my hair with the water from the tap before lathering the dye all over the raven colored hair. It took a little while, but eventually I drenched every last black strand with the dirty blonde dye. I looked myself in the mirror and gave a myself a toothy grin.

'Yup, you now you look a little like Naruto and lot less like Sasuke,' I thought, satisfied with the choice. 'Plus, Ayame would love it. She does like blonde hair more than black.' I stepped out of the restroom back into the Hokage's office, dead-pan, ready to go to the hospital, very unaware of what was transpiring in the Hokage's office. Almost as soon as I turned around after closing the door, a blur of horrible pain slammed into my gut. I felt weightless for a moment as I flew through the air, blood spilling from my mouth as the world grew dark hazy at the edges. As I slipped out of consciousness, I only caught the pink hair and slim figure cringing and the roar of a certain angry Sanin. Lungs burned and warm liquid hacked its way out of me, wracking spasms and convulsions of pain throughout my body.

* * *

Naruto POV

"Heh, Ino, nice work," I groaned, pain tightening across my ribs, abdomen, and cheeks. A large minority felt as if it got pummeled by a gorilla, which in terms of strength, was a little of an understatement.

"Thanks, Naruto, you sparred well, too," my blonde counterpart wheezed out. She half sprawled, half sat with her back against a boulder a few feet in front of me. Bruises and scrapes littered her body with a small trail of dried of dried blood from the side of her mouth. Ino looked just as beat, yet her cerulean pupil-less eyes blazed with energy. "I guess that was a draw, right?"

"Yeah, even though I went sixty percent on you," I replied with a foxy grin, a pride in my voice.

"So, I would've won if you kept with the deal." The blonde kunoichi had an unmistakable look of pride on her face. Though the deal was that I went half power on her, I raised the bar by ten percent so that she would have to push herself more and would improve faster, which was blatantly obvious. "Well...I don't know what to say," Ino said with a chuckle, her cheeks growing a little pink.

As she walked forward, the emotionless tone in her voice made me gulp in trepidation. 'I hope Ino's not mad at me or I'm doomed. Hopefully she's not like Sakura or I'm doomed,' I thought, sweat trickling down my partially exposed back as I shivered. The cool night air and sweat did not make a good combination, especially with the black tank-top hung in tatters, revealing most of my new-ish toned six-pack, parts of my back, and bits and pieces of my chests and sides, all lean and toned as well. My pant legs were ripped at the knee to beat-up shorts, revealing the toned muscles there as well. I didn't get as large as I hoped, but I couldn't deny that the muscles were larger and much more dense, boosting my speed and strength, not to mention that I now reached five-eight from the five-three thanks to the growth spurt I finally hit. 'I have to thank Itachi for the training and the nutrition. I guess eating only ramen _did_ keep from growing in muscle and height after all. And I'm not as dumb as before either.' I flushed at the realization that my diet wasn't the best for me. "

"Hey, Ino, are you feeling alright? Your face is all pink," I said with a straight-face, successfully suppressing the mischievous smirk. 'I only pretend to be clueless. I should probably put on a new tank-top for Ino's sake.'

"W-wait, wh-what are you talking about," Ino replied with a cocked brow, voice tinged with embarrassment while her blush deepened. Her brow creased and blue eyes sparked in frustration.

'Sorry, Ino, I couldn't help myself. You look cute when you're frustrated.' I blinked as I realized what I had thought, blushing in embarrassment and surprise at the thought. 'Ugh, here I go again. What's happening to me? My heart and body feel the same way I used to react when I was around Sakura-chan.' I shafted the thought as soon as it appeared. "Ino could you give me a hand, please?" I asked, too tired and banged up to stand up. She smiled and extended her arm, which I took. "Thank you, Ino-chan," I winced as pain stabbed the abdomen.

'Your hands are so smooth and soft. And you look gorgeous,' I thought, really looking at the beat girl for the first time in the last couple months, utterly surprised at how she'd grown and flowered as well. She had curves in all the right places and C-cup breasts, yet had a lean and toned body befitting that of a kunoichi. Her purple tank-top now revealed her flat, toned stomach and her once knee-length skirt reached only half way down her thigh of her long legs. Realizing that I had stared at Ino's body, I blushed fiercely.

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun," Ino giggled as she saw the reddening cheeks, shooting an innocent look. A chilly wind picked up from nowhere, carrying Ino's long glossy hair so it waved loosely. White teeth chattered and tanned limbs shivered as the wind whistled and blew across sweat. "Hey, Naruto, you mind if you help me out."

I nodded, having already warmed body with a very small amount of fire chakra. I took the one step between us, hugged her close to my side, channeling chakra to the trembling blonde's body. An extra bit of warmth burned at every point of contact with Ino's smooth, soft, perfect skin that smelled of roses and wild flowers. "Heh, heh, what do you think of the chakra nature control I have?" I asked Ino who had surprise written all over her face.

"Well, it's much better than before," Ino replied with a grin, "You definitely are stronger than before even while you had used the Kyuubi's chakra. I think you should try finding out the powers of your sharingan and try to derive a jutsu from the rasengan using either element." She looked over the river towards the large full moon that bathed the riverbank where we sat with soft silver light. Her eyes caught the light beautifully, making them shine like jewels. A content smile crept on her face while crickets, owls, and other night animals sang a soothing melody.

"Yeah, I probably should. And I am definitely more powerful than before, especially considering everything that Itachi taught me. Plus the Kyuubi is much more willing to help, too, rather than trying to just take control..." I trailed off, thinking of Ino and the friends I had in Konoha, a slight sadness washing over me. "I wonder what everyone would think if they us. You have improved a lot, too, in every aspect as well, especially nin-, sensing, and medic jutsu. I think you're better than Sakura at medical jutsu, now." I grinned at the Yamanka's skeptical face to show that I meant it.

"Well, I have to thank you and Itachi for that," she replied blushing shyly before leaning her head on my shoulder, wrapping my arm around herself tighter. We stayed like that in meaningful silence for what must have been a half-hour.

"NARUTO! INO! DINNER'S READY AND THERE IS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT!" Ayame shouted from the cave-house just as the succulent scent of ramen wafted through the air, a treat she prepared twice a week.

"Coming!" Ino and I shouted at the same time before rushing back to the cave. The shunshin didn't work within a third of a mile of the cave. We were greeted with the sight of nine bowls of ramen on the oaken table in the cream dining-room and a comforting warmth and soft light. Everything seemed perfectly fine and the atmosphere filled with a familial air, especially with the different, huge group pictures of us on all four walls.

That was until we spotted Ayame at the head of the table, a piece of paper trembling in her hands and a distraught expression on her face. Slightly puffy eyes and small glistening tear tracks skimmed down her cheeks. She shook with obvious pain. It stopped my heart dead in its tracks, leaving me too shocked to speak.

"Ayame, what happened? What's wrong?" Ino said with a concerned look on her face, coming around and hugging Ayame from behind to soothe her.

"It's Itachi. He sent this letter via crow," she replied in a slightly pained voice, handing the white paper to Ino.

" _Dear Ayame,_

 _If you are reading this, it means I am in Konoha at the hospital. I haven't told you yet but I have been dying for quite some time now from a blood disease and have no more than three years left to live. I have been trying to find a cure but I had given up on it because there was little hope. I was going to finish business with Akatsuki and Orochimaru without finding a cure, knowing that I would die soon after. Because of you, however, I have decided against it and want to live longer and have an actual life. I have gone to Tsunade for help to get healed and she said it was possible, though it would take ten days or so. She said it's risky and that I may die, so she said I should have you come and watch over me throughout the process. Please come, I may die but at least we'll get to be with each other._

 _Because I don't plan on dying, I made a plan for the interim and afterwards concerning all of us. Tsunade approved of making us a black-ops team so we can go on missions and get better prepared. That said, I told Ino and Naruto's senseis to train them while I recover so that they would get as much training done as possible to get as powerful as possible. Oh, and good news, while it will be painful, I am going to be multiple times more powerful than now. Give Ino and Naruto my regards and tell them all of this, please. Also, tell them that they well be promoted to at least Chunin if not Tokebetsu Jounin. They have the strength, will, mindset, and ability required for it._

 _Much love,_

 _-Itachi XOXO_ " Ino read aloud. Ino and I sat down to let it all sink in, leaving the room in complete silence.

"That _bastard_ ," I growled, breaking the silence. Anger and disappointment replaced the good mood I had not five minutes before. The blonde and brunette looked at me with shock plastered on their faces, obviously thinking that I would be the one to defend Itachi in this situation. "Itachi talks about us being like a family and says he loves Ayame and all, but he can't tell us about this very important fact, that he is going to die soon because of a disease, especially to you, Ayame. He has to just wait until something happens before revealing a very important fact like it was a minor detail." The air around me flared with hot anger directed towards the Uchiha. He should've have told us and the fact that he didn't couldn't be more disappointing and angering.

"Whoa, calm down, fox boy," Ino cooed soothingly, wrapping me in a hug from behind. "Don't be mad at him. It took you forever to tell anyone about the nine-tails. I am the first and only of your friends to know. Don't you think that is something important as well?" she asked gently, the truth and her touch calming me down, "Itachi, like you, had his reasons. The important thing is to continue on with what he told us in the letter."

"Alright, Ino, I understand," I sighed as the last of the anger ebbed away, letting me smile again. "We'll get to see our friends again, I guess. And show them how much more powerful we are," I added, smiling as I imagined the look of shock on everyone's faces, especially Sakura's. 'I wonder how she would react...'

"Well, I guess that settles it. We have to go," Ayame finished, interrupting my thoughts, "We have to eat first, but quickly. The sooner we get their, the better for all our sake." A smile replaced the saddened and conflicted look she had moments before. She immediately dug in, devouring the ramen faster than conceivably possible.

"Sure," I chuckled, digging in as well, the warm rich tonketsu broth soothing the ache in my muscles. I shoveled and slurped the noodles and the soup fast enough to almost reach Ayame's speed, but slow enough to savor the taste. "This (*slurp*) is so (*slurp*) amazing, Ayame."

"Thank you so much," Ino added, matching my pace. I would've never believed that someone like Ino could eat food like me, considering everything, but it turned out that I was so wrong. As soon as Ino stopped dieting, she showed her true colors: an appetite that rivaled my own and a ravenous eating pace. Within three minutes we finished our three bowls simultaneously.

Ayame dashed to grab her backpack, smoke pellets, grappling gear, kama, katana, senbon, shuriken, and tanto. I gathered all the scrolls, tags, inks, brushes, flack jacket, and cloak I had, considering I stored almost everything else in storage seals. Ino did the same. Since I had made recyclable storage seals, it was much more efficient. In less than five minutes we met up on the edge of the clearing completely prepared.

"Alright, you ready?" I asked my two comrades, the brunette catching my eye the most. Ayame wore what seemed like tight-fitting urban camouflage clothing: pants, long-sleeved shirt, jacket, boots, and even a balaclava-styled fukumen. She nodded after Ino. I grinned a little in excitement. 'I can't wait to show Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Sakura what I've learned.'

 **Hey, brat, what about your Mangekyo Sharingan? That may be a little much, better to keep your best cards up your sleeve.** The all too familiar voice growled disapprovingly, though not taking me into the mindscape.

"W _ell, Kurama-san, I guess maybe you're right. I mean I don't even know if they're upset with me or not, which I_ doubt," I conceded after taking a moment to think things through.

 **Of course they're upset with you, boy. You left them and they still hate you for being a jinchuuriki, a monster, especially now that you are exponentially more** **powerful**. The Kyuubi hissed, inspiring anger and resentment through his words. However, he fought an uphill battle since I grew with an increasing confidence, gratitude, and forgiveness.

 _"I'm sorry Kurama, but your goading won't get you anywhere. I_ will _show you friendship, that I care, dattebayo!"_ I proclaimed to the nine-tailed fox. Though he may think it, I didn't hate him, nor did I pity him. Perhaps the most unhappy being resided in him and I would show him the light and change the fox.

"Ahem, Naruto, come on," Ino's voice broke through the conversation as she cleared her throat.

"Ready whenever you are," I grinned. No way would I ever miss this chance, especially to show what remained of Team 7 that I could protect and reunite them. Ayame rolled her eyes and grabbed onto Ino, already knowing what to do. With a nod, we shunshined from the paradise-esque clearing to the gate of Konoha.

"'The Village Hidden in the Leaves,'" I read the sign on the red main gate aloud. "Well that's new."

The walls seemed higher and stronger, while the gate had a covering of steel. Two mixed squads of Chunin and Jounin guarded the main gate-one on the ground, the other on the wall. For some reason, the guards didn't seem as threatening or menacing as before, though they visibly tensed and readied to fight at our sudden appearance via the shunshin, if the drawn tantos and kunai and the churning chakra were anything to go by.

"You three, state your business," a familiar female voice barked from the middle of the group in front of the gate. She stepped forwards as two wolves followed in her wake. Those and the red fang tattoos on each cheek gave her away instantly.

"Hey, Hana!" I shouted in greeting and walking forward before Ino and Ayame could stop me. Before I could get more than a meter, two dark blurs shot from opposite directions, clashing together ringing like steel on steel. The objects impaled the ground a couple meters away, the moonlight shining on them and revealing what ehy were.

"Why in the world would you throw a kunai at a fellow leaf nin?!" Aayme exclaimed, exasperated. She held a wakizashi in her right hand and a second shuriken in her left. In the dark night and the black background of the forest, Ayame looked deadly while barely visible.

"Fellow Leaf nin?" Hana asked incredulous, cocking an eyebrow, "You expect to believe that when none of you wear the forehead protectors?" A small, bitter chuckle escaped her. "You must be pathetic to forget that, honestly."

"Shit! That's what I forgot," Ino exclaimed in frustration, shaking her head. Hana looked at her with sudden realization as the long blonde hair of the Yamanaka and pupil-less eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

"Ino? What are you doing with these people?" Hana asked confused, "And you're supposed to be training or something." Hana sniffed the air, inhaling our scent and analyzing it, looking even more curious. "Yeah, it's you, but why do I smell fox?"

I just stood there ramrod stiff, utterly baffled by the question. 'Do they seriously not recognize me?' I thought, sweat-dropping.

 **Uhh...Naruto when was the last time you took a good look in the mirror?** a foxy voice piped up in a way that I could practically hear the face palm. **Your face looks much more mature and like your father's, kit. And aside from height, your hair is longer and you're more muscular.** I felt utterly baffled, though not at all displeased by the fox's observation.

"...almost killed is Naruto," Ino's voice cut through as I returned to the outside world. The blonde had been talking to the brunette and clearly had just told her because the look on Hana's face was priceless.

"You're bullshitting, right? That hot hunk of a guy is _the_ Naruto Uzumaki from our village? Our infamous prankster? The annoying, bratty shrimp that was best friends with my idiot brother?" Hana asked, wide-eyed and oblivious as to my approach, while Ino nodded at each question.

"Ahem, you know I'm still here," I cleared my throat. Both girls turned around, Ino smirking and Hana blushing. I rubbed the back of my head, a hot feeling crawling up from the neck to the ears, blazing hotter than a fireball. "So, um, Hana-chan, will you let us pass?" I asked sheepishly.

"Well, that depends," Hana whispered, shifting from foot to foot, trying to fight through nervousness. She got the silent "go on" I sent, recovering almost instantly and shone a wicked smile. "That depends if you take me out to Yakiniku Q." The Inuzuka shot a wily look at a slightly miffed Ino, which, because they still thought I was clueless, I pretended to not notice.

"Sure, Hana-chan, I owe you one anyway," I said and grinned happily. Ino rolled her eyes at me, to which I gave a discreet wink. The blonde froze a little as understanding washed over her and brought a smile to her face. I turned my attention back to Hana and she told her team to let us through without spilling who we were. She told me to meet her tomorrow at eight in the evening and winked mischievously before going back to the gate.

"What's up with Hana, anyway?" Ino asked a quarter hour later, after we dropped Ayame off at the hospital. They wouldn't let us in, which was fine since we wanted to see our friends first. "It looked like she knew some not-too-important secret that I didn't know about."

"Oh, that. I guess Hana remembered she owed me for doing such a horrible job at patching me up after Kiba ambushed me while training," I said, shivering as I remembering the horrible job, "I don't know if it's physically possible to miss a vein that many times for a shot."

Ino winced as she imagined the scene and gulped, "That's why you never get near needles anymore?" Yamanaka shook her head when I gulped in confirmation.

We continued on, jogging in silence through the village to try and spot any of the other Konoha 12. We knew where to find Lee and Neji but we wanted to talk to Sakura, Shika, Choji, or Kiba, completely oblivious to the silhouettes that melted in and out of the shadows on the ground and roof. Well, I had caught sight of them once, but when Ino didn't notice I quickly forgot about them, after all if we were being followed Ino would know. After what seemed like ages, we still found no one. All of them were probably on missions, except for Tenten, Lee, and Neji, the noises of battle and screaming about 'Flames of Youth' and 'Fated to lose' painfully loud. Just as I was about to give up, however, Ino tensed sharply and stopped in her tracks.

"Naruto, move!" She shouted, shoving me back and using the momentum to leap away with a grunt.

A crackling explosion thundered in a flash of lightning blue, tearing up shards of earth from the ground and splitting fissures around the point of impact. By instinct I fired up the Mangekyo Sharingan, bypassing the normal three tomoe version. Piercing through the cloud of brown dirt and dust, the eye revealed a black-sleeved arm sizzling with electricity attached to a v-shaped flak-jacketed torso, crouched legs, and a head with the leaf hitaite over an eye and gravity defying silver hair. The familiar young, masked man chuckled sadistically, a sound too scary to comprehend.

I processed the information and stiffened in shock. "What the-?" Leaving no room for thoughts, the Jonin formed the hand signs for the Fire Dragon Flame Projectile Technique. Unfortunately for him, I realized that I could try the new jutsu Itachi taught me based on it, adding two connected fists at the end of the string finishing at the same time as him.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Roar!" I shouted, releasing a huge blast of highly pressurized vermilion-white flame at the leaf Jonin as his own torrent of white hot flame jetted forth. The river of flame only served to decelerate the opposing attack by a fraction, while adding to its power. The spot where the silver-haired nin stood erupted in a large explosion of fire and heat that tore up a large and deep crater, sending quasi-molten debris slicing everywhere.

The shock-wave of the attack sent Ino and myself skidding back a few meters while debris stung our arms and faces. Obviously the silver-haired nin was not where he stood before. Rather, he lay over twenty meters away, sprawled on the ground covered in burns and lacerations. Covered in burns-only a couple of which were serious-and lacerations, the man shook getting up. Though some dark red soaked on the fabric of his mask, and blood streaked some of his gravity-defying silver hair and his arms, the Jonin's stillness confirmed his identity.

"Hatake-sensei, what the hell? Don't you recognize me?" I asked, voice strangled in pain and worry that I hurt my sensei, the emotions shutting out the small part that cheered.

"Hn," my sensei said in exaggerated thoughtfulness, getting up from a crouch and placing a hand on his hitaite as if thinking. "You do seem and sound somewhat familiar, however..." Kakashi trailed off letting me hang, which I stayed silent and relaxed a little, "You're dead, poser!" While shouting those words, the Jonin lifted the forehead protector and pinned me with his own Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!" we said simultaneously as our eyes locked, the words escaping my lips sounding like a growl. We stayed still for a moment and noticed nothing off.

'Thanks, Kurama-sensei, for the save,' I thought and heard him grunt. The fox saved my ass.

"Damn, you're better than I thought. I didn't realize that that was a Mangekyo Sharingan," Kakashi growled, as he kawarimied just as a blast of water slammed where he stood. The silver-haired Jonin appeared on a roof and uttered "Genjutsu: Sharingan." His eyes were not locked on mine, though. I looked down and saw Ino trapped in his gaze and immediately Shunshin away.

"What did you do to Ino-chan, you pervy bastard?! What's wrong with you and who is the poser?" I spat, anger and power flowing through the chakra system and into my eye.

"You lose," a voice hissed from behind as chirping and a shocking sensation pierced my body. Or rather a wooden log. The clone poofed out of existence as the chidori was spent. "What? How is that..." Kakashi mumbled in surprise, sure that he had had me.

I could only growl before channeling my chakra into a tight soccer ball-sized sphere, mixing in a bunch of demon chakra that turned it from blue to vermilion. "Why would you try to kill one of your own students, Sensei?! Can't you see who I am? The son of your sensei."

Fiery rage blazed forth, releasing another burst of lightning chakra from Kakashi. "SHUT UP, HE NEVER KNEW HIS PAST. AND FOR THIS YOU DIE!" as the man replied, arcs of bright energy climbed around his right arm. Both eyes spelled death, shielded in killing intent and a righteous fury. It wrenched the breath from my lungs momentarily, just as he reappeared much closer to me.

Zig-zagging at harrying speeds, the Jonin was all but a fuzzy figure despite my Mangekyo. My own anger broiling, I quickly made nine clone holding the same rasengan as myself, ready to pound the last Hatake to the ground. Five clones lunged at the man as he closed in, kunai coated with a dangerous aura of lightning chakra. Before they could make contact, however, ten bolts arced towards them and dispelled the clones instantly. I stood there stunned for a brief moment at the display, as despite the speed of the clones, Kakashi could still overcome them.

A crackling howl accompanied a mumbled "You're dead" just as a quartet of blue electric wolf-like figures pounced at us out of nowhere. I barely had enough time to roll back as the lightning canines erupted and released a plethora of arcs of blue energy outwards, catching the remaining shadow clones. The deafening thunder and blinding flashes caught me completely off-guard and blind-sided me to whatever Kakashi had up his sleeve.

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!" I shouted, wide-eyed. The panic that crawled up from losing sight of Kakashi immediately released the first effective defensive-offense jutsu. The wall of tornadoes howled as they raced forwards, ripping at clothing and the surrounding small square, a deep chill seeping everywhere. 'Where are you?' I thought frantically as the silver-haired Jonin was nowhere in sight.

Besides the breeze, only the softest crinkling vibrated kept the night from silence. Faint dancing shadows and the soft odd noise from behind gave the briefest of warnings. 'Gotcha,' I grinned like a fox, turning a 180 degrees at the same time that I unsealed the ancient katana Itachi gave me as a gift. Wind and fire chakra mixed into a blazing elongated blade.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Cutter," Kakashi mumbled, shooting forwards with a tight and concentrated blade of lightning around his right hand. Power and danger resonated from the attack itself, kicking all my switches into overdrive as he closed in.

I jumped to the side and slashed the blade to meet the attack, bracing myself. Lightning crackled and flared as it entered the flaming wind blade, jerking it away as part of the momentum was transferred to it. I grinned as I felt him slow down, but before I realized the intense heat had dissipated and the chakra blade didn't exist anymore. Icy sweat and anxious shivers burst at the realization and the Jonin who still had the jutsu active.

"Heheheh, nice moves," Kakashi chuckled darkly, the lightning blade resembling a concentrated chidori, "Except that won't stop this jutsu unless you want to die. You're going to need a lot more power than that."

I quickly formed the rasengan once more, pouring in more demon chakra than ever before. Some even formed a condensed tight cloak of vermilion chakra to protect myself. Whatever the Hatake had up his sleeve had the ability to kill with more power and efficiency than perhaps the rasengan I held. Nevertheless I needed to show who I was and what I learned. Steeling my resolve and tensing every muscle, I formed a lunging stance with the chakra sphere pointed at the Jonin, arm shaking slightly at the nervousness that wracked my body.

Blue energy crackled, highlighting the fearsome features of the black-clad shinobi especially with his Mangekyo activated. As the opponent closed in, the world seemed to slow down and fade, my heartbeat rising above the outside noises. 'Can I really pull this off and survive? This man-my sensei-is a high level shinobi and prodigy with amazing power and skill. How can I even compare?' the thoughts echoed tinged with nervous anxiety and sudden regret. 'I should've just run.'

 **Would you listen to yourself, Uzumaki brat!** Another voice snarled in outrage. **You sound like a good-for-nothing sissy who doesn't have the training and raw power you possess. Your natural chakra reserves are immense, and when combined with my own, you'll be unstoppable. Yes, you aren't there yet, but you are formidable even** **now.** The fox assured with an audible smirk-grin. For some reason, the phrase 'cheer up' and 'keep moving forward' came to mind when he spoke.

'You think so, Kurama?' I thought to the unusually kind Kyuubi, stopping the complaint mid-flow. His silence gave the best possible answer 'Thanks. And by the way, you do have a heart, you fluffy softy,' I teased back in thanks, which resulted in a menacing growl, but I didn't care. I knew how he actually felt. It'll be only a matter of time before he came to.

A mere meter away from impact, I quickly pumped a torrent of chakra, somewhat enlarging the Rasengan to keep peak density. Balance steadied and the vermilion spiraling sphere rushed forward to meet the lightning jab centered at the chest for an ensured kill. A screeching piercied the night air as the crackling of the jab and the thrumming of the ball collided, neither jutsus giving way for the briefest of moments. The smile on my face quickly turned into a terrified look as the jab pierced the Rasengan, causing it to collapse on itself, at alarming speed.

However, the spiraling sphere detonated outwards towards Kakashi as it collapsed on itself, before the lightning cutter could strike my chest. The resulting explosion blasted Kakashi's arm across the chest, cutting a streak of white hot pain. Electricity shocked and coursed through my system, bringing on a painful seizure as the explosion launched me backwards.

Fortunately, I caught sight of the silhouette of my sensei, which rocketed through the air and crashed into a wall with a great amount of force. Clearly he just had received quite a lot of pain and damage, though not to the extent as mine. The last image in my mind, before a crushing force knocked the breath from my lungs, was of a panting, sprawled Kakashi, right arm bleeding from a mess of cuts that was reflected along his torso as well, flak-jacket and mesh suit ripped to oblivion.

* * *

"I don't how you have that chakra, but this is the end of the line," A rough groaned, ripping away the dazed world with a harsher reality. A familiar silver-haired man with a blood-red eye stood above me, ragged, disheveled, and damaged. "Just explain this to me, who exactly are you and what did you do Naruto Uzumaki?"

I almost laughed at the sight of a bloodied beaten up Kakashi, not thinking it possible. That was before a paralyzing burst of pain drilled through my chest and skull like a million ice-picks. "But it's me, sensei," I said, or rather rasped between coughs. Warm liquid dribbled out of my mouth with each cough and seemed to coat my chest. Moreover, the pain made it hard to think clearly, blocking complete memory of what had transpired before.

"SHUT UP!" Kakashi roared, fist tearing into the ground with a bone-crunching thud. Beige dirt and red-brown blood caked his body in the oddest mud-like camouflage. Combining that with the muscle-flexing anger, he looked like a monster. Panting and blinking back angry tears, the Jonin stood on both his feet.

"Now answer me, Bastard!" The low, bloodcurdling shout thundered.

'Wh-what do I t-tell him?' I thought in a fit of frustration, fatigue, and fear. A violent death-black sky roiled behind the grey and red eyed man. I wracked my brain for ways to convince him but nothing popped up, much to my chagrin.

"Screw it," Kakashi muttered, drawing a tanto and channeling high intensity lightning around it. He lifted it up, eyes icy cold. They widened as a sun-red jet of chakra coursed and tightened around me before he could release his tension. A large chunk of chakra swirled into the Managekyo, a surge of power similar to that of the Tsukuyomi.

Instantly, a surge of my cocktail-ed chakra churned and lanced wave after wave into my own eye, causing a deep throbbing pulse to come from it. The small fraction of a moment for it to become constant felt like an eternity as I could see Kakashi nearing his jutsu's completion.

"Ka...mu-" Kakashi started, his sharingan flashing as chakra began to surge outwards.

An immense blast of screeching wind slammed into Kakashi before he could finish, launching his body far back. 'Kami no Hariken' an ancient voice whispered within my head. Warm, stinging pain ebbed from the Mangekyo and right cheek. However, it didn't concern me as much as the sudden stormy mass of clouds in the sky in a circle a hundred meters across.

I looked back at Kakashi, who collided with another abandoned building, a not too deep crater hugging his form. Rocks and debris flew from the ground and pelted the shinobi while the wind itself continued to pelt and tear. Tearing himself from the wall, Kakashi lurched forwards impossibly slow, battered from all sides. As he made the tiger seal, a chunck of rock slammed into his legs and left him at the wind's mercy. Groans, winces, hisses, and shouts of pain loosed themselves from the Jonin's mouth as he was thrown into the ground and at buildings around him, while the wind bruised and the debris tore through skin.

One again, the Jonin launched himself from a building for another attack, powering up his Mangekyo. Bruised and battered, blood trailed from fresh gashes. He screamed in frustration as the wind changed and threw him against the ground, sending the tattered man skidding across the street with sickening thuds and rips. Fresh blood trailed after the ninja and stopped abruptly as he crashed into a grey concrete warehouse. Head and shoulders dangled like a doll, knocked out cold.

'A good thing, too,' I thought, as the wind quickly dissipated and my knees gave out in fatigue. The world slipped away with a sudden drain in chakra, a drowsiness taking hold. Before I could finish the thought, I collapsed on the ground with a soft thump and a faint grunt, eyes rolling up simultaneously.


	11. Of Hospitals

**A/N: Sorry for the large break guys! Was working on another story and was kinda short on ideas but now I'm back! Thanx for the reviews and for the support. Now, on with the show, and don't forget to review or PM me.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Konoha Hospital, Itachi's POV

 _"Well that was fast. He's been waiting for you," the tough, honeyed voice of Anko stated, barely cutting through the cedar door of the examination room. About the only color in the disinfected room with white tile on the floor and white plaster on the walls and ceiling._

 _"What condition is Itachi in?" Ayame asked, a noticeable plea that shattered my heart. Bringing her pain wasn't the point. Anko must've nodded because Ayame busted through the door a moment later with a bang, revealing the surgical table that would double for a bed. I smiled at the beautiful brunette rushed towards me, decked in camouflage ninja gear._

 _"Wait! Don't hug Itachi-san, Ayame," a worried, school-girl voice interjected, as the pink-haired trainee known as Sakura intercepted her. "We just started on the first operation. He is still aware of his surroundings, though he can't feel anything at the moment and can't really_ _move." Ayame nodded in understanding, giving me a reassuring smile, as Sakura motioned to me and the Hokage, whose hands pumped a shroud of eerie lavender energy into my chest. Sweat covered the blonde's brow and her face locked in a frown._

 _Ayame's eyes darted to the I.V. needle and bags with a wince as they fed anesthetic, extra antibodies, nutrients, and water through the cardiovascular system. "So, how much longer until he's done with this first part?" Sakura's face lifted from the melancholy features to a happier one._

 _"Only a couple minutes. Then he'll need rest and we'll leave you two alone. Tomorrow is when the real operation_ _starts,"_ _Sakura replied with a smile, not worried and fully faithful in the fifth Hokage, who chuckled inaudibly in response. Ayame thanked Sakura and plopped down on the comfortable reclining chair the staff had brought for her. The pinkette returned to the Fifth's side and continued monitoring vitals as well as analyzing everything the Sanin did._

A loud commotion came from outside the hospital corridor with a loud hustle and bustle, shaking me from the memory of last night. Ayame lay curled in her sleep on the comfy chair, a sky blue blanket draped around her, the barest sliver of pale sunlight lighting her features.

"Itachi-san, I'm sorry to interrupt your rest, but need to come see this," Yugao announced in a low tone as she flashed by my side, as not to wake Ayame, and hoisted my left arm over her shoulder. Before I could respond, Anko was on the other side of the bed and had already taken the other arm, pulling me up in a standing position and dragging me out the room.

"It's about Naruto and Kakashi, Itachi," Anko whispered as she dragged me towards the torrent of commotion, "They were found both badly injured in a deserted part of the village." As if sensing my interest and questions, she continued, "Naruto is in critical condition. Thank the Kyuubi, otherwise he'd have been long dead by now from shock and blood-loss. He has a multitude of large bruises, burns, gashes, and even some nerve damage. Kakashi is unconscious and has several bruises, burns, cuts, gashes, scratches, and stress-fractures all less serious than Naruto." Worry edged her voice as she gritted her teeth. She clearly sympathized and empathized with the blonde, hyper boy, an outcast.

Worry and anxiety spiked as I pictured the limp bodies of friends, mangled, bloody, and broken. It seemed as if everyone I got close to got hurt one way or another in the end. Maybe Fate did exist, torturing those who tried so hard to defy it, making life miserable. "Yugao, Anko, do you have any idea who did it and where Ino is?" I asked, worried that Akatsuki may have finally struck at those I cared about.

"Well, it seemed wind, fire, water, and lightning were all used, based on the battlefield, plus a couple craters formed by Rasengan," Yugao answered, fear flashing in her eyes, a shiver slithering down her spine.

"Someone had enough power to shred buildings and the road apart. Who ever did it used B to S rank jutsu that caused as much wreckage as Manda," Anko replied with a slightly paling face, clearly having seen the damage. Either Naruto and Kakashi went all out on each other or they fought against Akatsuki.

I sighed in exasperation as they dragged me to the end of the hall in front of the hospital door. "Hopefully they didn't fight each other. Kakashi wouldn't have expected Naruto to look like he does or fight the same either. Oh and before either of you starts hitting on my student, remember that he likes Ino."

Yugao arched her brow, "Why would I hit on the Uzumaki, exactly?" she asked, utterly confounded for a moment. When an answer didn't come, her eyes flashed in surprise and sudden epiphany. "You're telling me that Naruto looks even more like his father?"

Anko's head snapped towards us, the look on her face saying 'Seriously?'. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door to the hospital room filled with commotion. Clearly this didn't bode too well.

"Yo, how are the last Hatake and Uzumaki doing?" I asked as I opened the door, torso mostly wrapped in bandages. A young man in white medic-nin scrubs looked up from the blonde teen he was working on and muttered "Stable", completely indifferent to the statement. 'Damn, what's with the lack of surprise at my comment. I thought they hated the Jinchuriki.'

"Kakashi is floating in and out of consciousness, so you can stay if you like. Just make sure to be back at your room before noon for your operation," one of the two medic nin replied, completely focusing on finishing losing the major wounds. Her partner bandaged the silver-haired Jonin's minor wounds and splinted his arm, inseritng an IV in his left arm before leaving.

"Um, Itachi, are you sure we're looking at is Naruto? I mean what the hell happened to the short bratty shrimp?" Yugao whispered with an audible hesitance, a slight pink brought to her cheeks, "He looks so much like the Yondiame, especially with the unruly blonde hair that reaches just below the shoulders."

'Total face-palm. Now, if it wasn't obvious enough already, people are going to start getting quite suspicious. Or attracted,' I thought in aggravation, realizing that my student looked like a young clone of the foruth hokage.

"Huh, I'd never thought the boy would get that much muscle or height, nevermind in a few months. Whatever your workout schedule is, you may want to share it with a lot of the younger generation ninja," Anko observed, noticing the toned six-pack, biceps, triceps, quads, forearms, and calves that gave the boy a look suitable for a someone three years older. Despite the bandages, gashes, and bruises, the blonde still showed an apex fighter's fitness that would make him formidable.

Leaving the two ANBU to look over the battered unconscious student wrapped in bandages, I shuffled towards the sprawled Jonin who groaned quietly. "Yo, Hatake, how are you holding up?" I asked, carefully sitting down on a plastic folding chair beside the hospital bed.

"...Huh?...I-is that you Itachi...w-what happened to your hair...or am I so drunk I'm seeing Namikaze blonde?" Kakashi mumbled with a pained, hoarse voice and an unfocused eye.

"Heh heh, I died my hair to disguise myself. And no, you're not drunk, you're in the hospital," I replied, a little unsure as to what to say so he wouldn't freak out.

"Hn..." Kakashi replied and nodded his drowsy head, begging the question of whether he was on morphine. "Wait...THE HOSPITAL?!" Kakashi exclaimed in alarm, sitting up so fast and looking around quickly to confirm. "SHIT! That means it wasn't dream. OW!" Kakashi ranted as a jolt of pain shot through his body and twisted his face. "Damn it all!" The Jonin collapsed back down, frustration and worry showing through his masked face.

"Wait, what happened Hatake-san?" Yugao asked, visibly worried at the anger and overpowering emotion that Kakashi unleashed throughout the room.

"Ugh, I'm a fucking disgrace! How is it possible for someone to lose two students in just months. First Sasuke, then Naruto," Kakashi fumed, though the last statement made the three other ninja in the room sweat-drop. Before anyone could break the news to him, Kakashi continued. "So last night I came across someone who looked like a bad imitation of Naruto, though much more similar to his dad. The ninja had Ino with him, so I sent her to her parents house and fought this boy who claimed to be Naruto, though he was clearly an impostor who knew Naruto's history perfectly and could make his chakra signature very similar.

"In addition, this 'Naruto' knew advanced elemental jutsu that ranked from C to A rank as well as the Rasengan. He had a Mangkeyo Sharingan that I'm assuming he stole from Naruto, especially considering that he knew two techniques, one of which is definitely S-ranked," Kakashi narrated quickly, "I think I beat him, but he was extremely skilled, much more than he seemed anyways. And long story short, did you catch him?"

Killing intent rolled off me in waves so oppressive, even Naruto stirred in his unconscious state; Kakashi, however, remained clueless as an impassive face faced him. "A-alright, Kakashi, does the person to your left look like the impostor?" I asked, gesturing to the wounded, unconscious Naruto barely keeping the tone even. Anger blasted at thousands of degrees centigrade. I hoped, for Kakashi's sake, my suspicions were wrong.

Kakashi's eye widened in alarm and he reached to the bandage covering his Sharingan, exclaiming, "Huh?! What the heck, that _is_ the impostor! Wha-"

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE SO DUMB?!" I interjected, all the anger exploding outwards and emphasized by the pounding I gave him, leaving him with a bloody nose, split lip, and a few bruises before I calmed down. "That _is_ Naruto!"

Hatake blinked in surprise, a blank look that spelled 'no way' erased the pain. "...You can't be serious..." Kakashi replied after a few moments in utter disbelief. "B-but...but how? He grew so much and so have his skills, chakra control, and jutsu. That, combined with the danger Naruto would be in from Akatsuki, blinded me from the truth."

I nodded my head, realizing that very few could possibly recognize the last Namikaze, especially those who knew the danger he and the village were in. "In any case, Kakashi, you owe me a net total of 2000 ryo since I told you I'd make him stronger in a year than Sasuke and Naruto improved with you on average." Even if it made me scum, I sincerely hoped Kakashi didn't remember the bet well enough to tell the lie.

Kakashi just chuckled at my claim. "Um, sorry but no my friend. I owe you half that, because you were only partly right," Kakashi replied slyly and reached into his pant pocket and handed me a folded thousand ryo note with an eye smile. The Jonin didn't even seem mad that I pummeled him. "And by the way, dude, thanks for training Naruto so well. I didn't know how it was possible, but you did it," Kakashi said, clapping a heavy hand over my shoulder, highly sincere.

I smiled at my friend. "No, thank you for introducing someone that could keep me from going over the edge. I feel like he's my little brother or cousin and made me realize what I needed in life. For that, I thank you," I whispered to him and proceeded to pass through the doors, but not before asking for the Hatake to tell Naruto to come to my room if he wanted to visit.

* * *

Three days later... third person pov

A certain pair of blondes sat at the Ichiraku ramen bar, the teen boy engulfing his bowl like a ravenous beast, an empty one already at his side. The other blonde, a teenage girl with similar sky-blue eyes giggled at something her counterpart whispered, slurping her soup with relishment. Now, such a sight wouldn't be that out of place in Konoha, if it wasn't for the fact that the Naruto was the only boy (alive) in the village with such yellow unruly hair. And Ino, well, she did possess many qualities that most boys and even some girls would likely remember.

As the couple slurped ramen, Kiba and Hinata, accompanied by Tenten and Neji -who had found an over-protectiveness for his younger cousin- , searched for them after they had heard from Hana that Naruto and Ino were back. Hinata and Neji at first began looking for Naruto's and Ino's chakra signatures via the Byakuugan but didn't find any exact matches. Thankfully for the Hyuga's, Kiba remembered that Naruto's favorite place to go was Tuechi's ramen shop and Tenten thought Ino would likely be at the Yamanka flower-shop. Upon arriving at the shop, Ino's mother told them Ino had left to go with Naruto, commenting "I never expected to say this, but wouldn't Ino and Naruto make the cutest couple."

At the present, the four teens raced towards the ramen bar, hoping to catch the blondes.

"Yo, Neji, you sure you can't locate Naruto's chakra?" Kiba asked, running on all fours with a larger Akamaru at his side.

"Inuzuka, just because you're dating my cousin doesn't mean that you can call me familiarly," Neji sniped with an impassive expression, making the two girls giggle as they heard Kiba get shot down.

"Kiba-kun, we found chakra signatures that are somewhat similar but not that close to either," a blushing Hinata answered, picking up the pace with a lot of chakra-enhanced speed. "Anyways, Neji, how many times do I have to tell you to not be a jerk to boys besides Naruto or Lee?" Hinata asked, slightly annoyed. A few months ago she wouldn't have been so forthcoming but that completely changed after she had started training with Neji, Lee, and Tenten and went out with Kiba.

"We're a block away, guys," Tenten said, quickly slowing down her pace and everyone's as a result. When they reached a full stop and the store came into sight, Tenten immediately turned to leader-mode. "Naruto and Ino probably changed in the last months, both appearance, clothing, and body structure. Maybe Naruto finally decided to change his hairstyle and grow some, while Ino decided to change attire," Tenten said.

"And maybe Naruto decided to dye his hair bright orange, in addition to his clothes," Kiba added, the resulting image making everyone -including Hinata- gag at the bright, tacky, flashy image.

"Hopefully, Kakashi's friend burned all the orange that he found on Naruto," Neji replied, a strange expression of hope and revulsion appearing on the normally expressionless Hyuga.

"That would be the day...but anyways they may not look the same as before so be wary. Now, let's move," Tenten lectured, before making her way towards the bar.

To their surprise, they say two tallish blonde shinobi that looked about seventeen. Toned muscle adorned their arms and both had hair that reached at least down to their shoulders. The one with the unruly haircut seemed like a quite fit and experienced ninja of at least Chuunin and seemed to be a handsome guy, considering the tan and wiry toned arm muscles and ankles. He wore a form fitting raven-black kevlar tank top and medium-long black kevlar pants, both with a small orange stripe and a vermilion spiral on the back of his shirt. On the other hand, although the girl differed in physical build and had become quite curvy and less child-like, remained quite familiar with the violet-purple clothing that hugged her body.

"Hey, Yamanaka! Who's your boyfriend?" Kiba called from a few meters away.

The shaggy haired guy immediately spewed the water he had just drank, completely caught by surprise for quite a few reasons. 'How come one of my best friends can't even recognize me? Ino's boyfriend, not in a million years, she's way out of my league. How did Kiba find us? Should I show off?' These questions ran through Naruto's head in a fraction of a second, baffled.

Ino just turned around with a smile. "Hey, Kiba! Hey Hinata, Tenten, and Neji!" the blonde greeted enthusiastically, waving them over, "Long time, no see guys!"

"Yeah, Ino, no kidding. And you finally got over your hopeless crush and landed quite the handsome guy," Tenten replied, grinning, flustering both Naruto and Ino with the implication of their being a couple. "Anyways, how've you been?"

"Um, well, we're..." Ino tried to reply, embarrassed, though got cutoff. Shooting a glance at Naruto, which he returned, they silently to play along to see how thick their friend were.

"So how have you two been and, dude, what's your name?" Kiba asked the shaggy blonde, eager to get to know him. After all, he did look pretty cool and seemed to know quite a few things.

"My name? Does such a thing even matter? It is but a way to be acknowledged and remembered, no more memorable than the actions, appearance, or words of a person," Naruto replied, channeling philosophical thought and smoothness through his words while remaining completely cool. In reality he wanted to fall on the ground bawling in laughter, especially as everyone except Ino nodded in mystified agreement. It seemed utterly priceless to the jinchuriki that people could be so gullible if one added the right spin and touch.

"Quite an astute observation, senpai," Neji replied, "It seems you have more wisdom than your age and eyes seem to suggest."

"Again, age is but a measure of time that means nothing in terms of knowledge and wisdom. One must reflect on and experience the world to achieve said wisdom. An old prisoner may have less knowledge than a young but experienced explorer." Once again, Naruto somehow kept himself from collapsing in fit of laughter. He sounded like the stereotypical Third Hokage or old sage. The fact that his friends accepted it seemed even more hilarious.

"That's how he won you over, Ino, isn't? So intelligent, smooth, fit, sharp, and handsome," Tenten muttered to Ino, who had to over her face in order to keep from snorting out in utter laughter. It was totally unreal that four of Naruto's friends could be so easily entranced and convinced, when it took some lengthy explanation on most things for them to believe him normally.

The thing was, though, Ino could totally see herself believing the teenager with more eageriness and vigor than the Hokages she lived under. To some degree, though Naruto hadn't realized it, he possessed the characteristics of the ideal leader if acted on his mature instincts and his heart. She'd seen his inventiveness, sharpness, determination, charisma, and steadfast morally correct heart firsthand too many times to think otherwise.

"Well, well, seems like you are on your path to being a true leader and Hokage, seeing your charisma, intelligence, and wisdom, Naruto-bouzu," Tuechi said, placing another deliciously steaming bowl of ramen in front of Naruto and Ino.

"Wait, Tuechi, you know this guy?" Kiba asked, shaking off the stunned expression the quickest of the four friends. Noted, he also seemed to be one of the more convinced that this wasn't Naruto Uzumaki.

"Uh, well of course I do. And so should you. After all, haven't you two known each other for about ten years?" Tuechi asked rhetorically, spelling it out for the clueless friends, "Let's see. He's the same Naruto that saved Hinata when she was little, beat Neji and Kiba, defeated Gaara, fought Sasuke, and trained under Kakashi. In other words, one of the closest friends you four have." The old man chef looked truthfully and pointedly at the newcomers who were utterly baffled at his words, heads swinging between the alleged Naruto and the grandfatherly man.

"Oh, that was priceless!" Ino laughed hysterically at the confused and horrified friends, "That was the best, Naruto-kun!". Ino hugged Naruto and pecked him on the cheek, bringing a huge grin to his face.

"Well, anything for you, Ino-chan," Naruto said, adding a honeyed charm into his voice like Itachi as he swept the platinum blonde in his arms bridal style. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as well, which elicited a blush and a giggle from Ino. 'Yep, I've fallen for her hard and so has she. Kakashi, Asuma, Shika, Choji, and Kurama, you all owe me fifty thousand ryo each,' the teen thought, before giving the dazzling Ino a soft kiss on the lips that she returned.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF KAMI?!" Three quite familiar voices shouted, interrupting the moment. "Since when does Ino like anyone but Sasuke and Naruto have luck with women?" Shikamaru and Choji groaned, already feeling their wallets lighten a lot.

Asuma went however, went for dramatic flair. He just slipped on the trench knives and coating them in wind chakra. "I, Asuma Sarutobi, hereby..." the muscular man's voice thundered. Naruto rolled his eyes wondering how much easier it would be to fight Asuma than Itachi or Kakashi, though he still hoped Asuma wouldn't challenge him. "...thank you, on behalf of my wallet, for deciding to take care of Ino. May you be a happy couple and may Naruto's wallet always be very stuffed before going out with Ino," the man finished, taking out his wallet and handing him the thirty thousand ryo and a note that said 'thank you! =)'.

With this, Choji and Shikamaru laughed and forked over their share of the bid, leaving Naruto with a total of 150,000 ryo. 'Why do I suddenly feel like the loser?' the blonde boy thought, a horrible premonition shaking his spine. Sweat trickled down the side of his face and neck as dread curdled in his stomach. However, remembering that he was holding Ino in his arms, blushed and let her down.

"S-sorry about th-that Ino-chan," Naruto stuttered, blushing brightly, as he rubbed the back of head.

Ino seemed just as embarrassed and happy as Naruto, if not more so. "I-it's totally f-fine. I r-really l-like you, Naru-kun," the platinum blonde replied, hugging the boy. A warm sensation grew in the pit of her of gut and heart, feeling safe and loved in his arms. 'This is nothing like a stupid crush. It's more than plain attraction. Thank Kami that Itachi came along or I'd still be blinded by Sasuke since Naruto would still be immature,' she thought with a smile, pulling out of the embrace a minute later.

"Aww, that's _so_ cute," Hinata said with a giggle, smiling and looking into Kiba's eyes warmly. 'I know used to like Naruto-kun, but I was blind. There was someone who already loved me and I needed them, like Ino. And I don't regret it now that Kiba rid himself of jealousy and has a greater drive. Besides, if he hadn't, he'd be way behind Naruto. That chakra he has is even larger and stronger as if it is fusing rather than consuming itself. Besides, I'm happy for Naru, that he finally found love,' Hinata thought, blushing slightly, and pecking Kiba on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Neji activated his Byakugan and concentrated on Naruto. When he had finally analyzed the puzzling sight, he gasped so profoundly confused. 'How...How is that possible. His own chakra has strengthened on its own and grew twice as large as before. It's as if there was a lock or something, and even now it doesn't seem full,' the newly promoted Chunin thought, completely forgetting to tell Naruto about the promotion of him, Lee, and Tenten.

'That vicious red chakra from before, has fused with his own chakra and isn't blocking the chakra flow as much. Moreover, the chakra is hiding in plain sight. The indigo/violet/vermilion chakra is so dispersed from the body, it's hardly detectable unless you zoom out,' Neji's thoughts continued, palms suddenly clammy as he shot a quick glance to Tenten. He shuddered absolutely shocked and, frankly, frightened by whatever new power Naruto had unlocked in his training. Whatever it was, he definitely was way above his Genin rank. Also, he wanted to talk to Tenten but wasn't sure how to do it without hurting who he considered his best friend.

"Oh, guys, before I forget, I want to show you all something really awesome I got and learned to use," Naruto shouted in excitement, hoppingout of his wooden stool and onto the street so everyone could get a good look.

'Oh Kami, Naruto, you idiot, please don't show them the Sharingan!' Asuma thought in alarm. "Naruto, uh, I don't..." he began as he felt Naruto gathering and churning chakra. Before the man could do anything however,

"Release!" Naruto shouted in his new normal voice, realizing he had shifted back to an uncomfortable octave higher than normal. Indigo-vermilion chakra flashed between his two palms and he chanted, "Sora ikari no ken (sword of solar wrath)!". Blazing wind rushed and spiraled around the blonde, whipping his hair around, and bright white, vermilion, and orange flames flared. As the blinding, deafening, awing sight died down, a meter long titanium katana appeared with a vermilion grip with a ribbon at the bottom; the first half-foot of blade and the hilt were covered in intricate etched seals.

Tenten gazed at the sword in total utter awe, recognizing it as an ancient heirloom when the clans still fought amongst each other and treated it as art, applying permanent fuinjutsu much more frequently to their swords. "Where did you get that blade? Clearly it must be at least a century old considering the style and its possessing a name," Tenten said and stepped forward, curious.

"Kakashi's friend gave this to me. It's supposedly the twin sister of his best sword," Naruto replied excitedly, channeling some chakra into it and forming a wind blade that made the sword a little bigger and much sharper. "It's attuned to wind and fire chakra, since it barely takes any effort to form a chakra blade."

"Hn, quite impressive, Uzumaki, but the question is: how good are your kenjutsu skills," Asuma replied, stroking his beard, a challenge flashing in his eye. It pissed him off that someone could so easily do his signature move and steal his thunder. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see how you do in a fight against Tenten with only kenjutsu, shurikenjutsu, and taijutsu," Asuma added with mischief, waiting to see if Naruto would accept it cockily or if he changed at all under Itachi.

"Hn, sure, I'll gladly spar with Tenten on those conditions. However, I'll just use the other katana I got." With that, Naruto dispelled the master-crafted weapon, reached into the white paper seal on his left hand, grabbed the smooth leather hilt, and pulled the carbon-steel katana out. This blade, while not as beautiful seemed incredibly strange as the blade even at the edge was ink black with a white leather gripped handle and a gold-plated hilt.

"Okay, this I have to see," Neji chuckled in pure amusement, "If only to see what Naruto learned and how long -or rather short- he'll last against Tenten." He had full faith in his girlfriend's abilities after Might Guy made Tenten spar and use weapons with training weights. The force and speed of her kunai and shuriken made them lethal and almost impossible to see, much less dodge.

"Alright, Naruto, I'll take you up on the challenge," Tenten said with a grin, firmly shaking the blonde's tanned calloused hand with her own cream hand.

Minutes later, the shinobi and kunoichi appeared on the dirt training ground, coincidentally that same battle ground that Itachi and Anko had wrecked in their "little squabble."

Naruto faced Tenten with a grin and tightened both fists to crack his knuckles. Jitters shook the muscular body as adrenaline galloped, driving anxiety and new combat instincts into overdrive. Whilst analyzing the brunette with twin buns, the last Namikaze debated whether he should show off his sharingan. Though it went against Itachi's and his sensei's wishes, the sheer excitement of having such an ability seemed wrong not to share.

'After all, we're all allies, right? I've known them since Academy and they understand how to successfully keep secrets. The only concern should be Asuma and myself, both for the reason of having a relationship with people who can seriously fuck with minds or whose parents can do the same.' Naruto sighed at the thought, vowing to reveal the sharingan to his friends at a later date with no adult supervision (heh heh).

"Yo, Uzumaki, ready or are you giving up like a pansy?" Tenten taunted, speed-juggling and twirling kunai at menacing rates. It scared the living shit out of the blonde boy, thrown off by Tenten's unparalleled dexterity with the blades. If he had become expertly fluent, she had attained mastery.

Trembling with anticipation, the muscled tall teen nodded, refusing to gulp down the lump in his throat if it meant keeping face. "Bring it on, Tenten. If you don't come with your all, you won't be able to beat me. Believe it!" Naruto proclaimed, drawing the carbon-steel katana menacingly. Deep breaths banished anxiety from warring thoughts, allowing for an untainted concentration on the field. Emotion drained away, until the cool, concentrated mask of an adept killer showed.

"Begin!" Shikamaru declared, the unilateral judge of the competition.

Naruto, legs in a slight crouch, a hand clutching the leather hilt, the other holding the scabbard. He had instinctively assumed an Iaido counter position, giving him the ability to quickly and efficiently capitalize on even the opponent's smallest mistakes.

Tenten, ever patient, analyzed the toned, handsome, hyperfocused blonde shinobi that stood a dozen paces in front of her. Silence reigned, a slight breeze blowing stray leaves lazy through the air, rustling the branches of the trees ever so slightly. Seconds melted by and still the blonde, locks drifting, held his coiled and cool position. A face and figure so familiar faced her, though who her friend resembled failed to materialize on Tenten's tongue. Some famous and powerful Konoha shinobi that had died...Realizing that it would serve only as a distraction, she cast the thoughts aside and launched the two kunai she held with a quick flick of the wrists.

Flashing steel shrieked through the air towards the blonde, impossibly fast. However, Naruto's eyes kept pace with the knives, gauging there trajectory slightly off, overriding his instinct to dodge or deflect the kunai and drawing his attention to the kunoichi before him. The girl had already darted forward, a kunai and a tanto in her hands, ready to strike at her distracted opponent. The kunai sailed over the blonde's shoulders whistling past his ears, yet he held his ground, eyes on the charging opponent to see if she left an opening.

Before Tenten could abort her frontal assault, Naruto drew his sword in a flash, cutting down from left to right with the same motion. Barely seeing the blurring blade, Tenten planted both feet and crossed her two blades, just blocking the katana.

A harsh crash of steel grinding on steel split the air, the force of the impact traveling up Tenten's arms, causing her to grunt and hop back. A great move, assuming that the Uzumaki stayed stationary. Still impassive, Naruto kicked off the ground in a blur, slashing at Tenten's exposed stomach midair, who barely lifted her kunai in time to deflect the attack, causing it to graze her stomach and draw only a small line of blood. Relentless, Naruto followed up with kick as they flew through the air, smashing into his opponent's gut and sending her flying down to the ground with a groan and a thump.

Spots lanced through across Tenten's as the kick drew air out of her lungs and sent coppery tasting blood into the air. The kick had somehow snuck through her guard with greater force than she thought Naruto capable of. Pain from the crash into the dusty ground reached improbable levels, immobilizing the body with shock. Or it would've had it not been for the extra training to resist the effects of pain.

Naruto prepped a jump kick to finish off his opponent as he reached the ground. His right heel blurred towards the brunette's unprotected chest. However, jerking pain shot up as a loud crunch resounded through the battlefield. Dirt sprayed everywhere, sending debris flying as the blonde's foot slammed into the hard ground, the girl gone from her previous prone position.

"What the heck?" Naruto mutters in disbelief, unsure as to how someone could so quickly recover from such a blow. The slight clink of metal rustling against metal gave the only warning. He spun around just in time to bring his sword up to deflect a trio of shuriken and senbon racing at his face. He twisted back as punch struck his unprotected left side, wheeling to keep his balance. "Dammit!" Naruto barked as he parried jab after jab from Tenten's kunai, which kept him just off balance enough to keep from going on the offensive.

"Heh, Tenten, you're quite skilled," Naruto complimented as he side-stepped a jab that left her body exposed, which gave him the break he needed. In a flash, a knee connected with the girl's solar plexus. "But you're just a little too sloppy," the blonde finished, emphasizing it by spinning behind her slightly hunched form and smashed the pommel against her back.

Tenten gasped, falling forward. Planting her hands on the ground, she executed a couple handsprings to save herself.


	12. Recovery

**A/N: Please review or PM if you like the story and/or want to voice what you would like to see in the future. PM me if you have constructive criticism (easier for me to change things that way).**

* * *

Chapter 12

Previously:

 _Naruto prepped a jump kick to finish off his opponent as he reached the ground. His right heel blurred towards the brunette's unprotected chest. However, jerking pain shot up as a loud crunch resounded through the battlefield. Dirt sprayed everywhere, sending debris flying as the blonde's foot slammed into the hard ground, the girl gone from her previous prone position._

 _"What the heck?" Naruto mutters in disbelief, unsure as to how someone could so quickly recover from such a blow. The slight clink of metal rustling against metal gave the only warning. He spun around just in time to bring his sword up to deflect a trio of shuriken and senbon racing at his face. He twisted back as punch struck his unprotected left side, wheeling to keep his balance. "Dammit!" Naruto barked as he parried jab after jab from Tenten's kunai, which kept him just off balance enough to keep from going on the offensive._

 _"Heh, Tenten, you're quite skilled," Naruto complimented as he side-stepped a jab that left her body exposed, which gave him the break he needed. In a flash, a knee connected with the girl's solar plexus. "But you're just a little too sloppy," the blonde finished, emphasizing it by spinning behind her slightly hunched form and smashed the pommel against her back._

 _Tenten gasped, falling forward. Planting her hands on the ground, she executed a couple handsprings to save herself. Despite the pain and the surprises, Tenten smiled a genuine happy grin. Whomever had taught and trained Naruto had done so with amazing ability, going so far as to stabilize his mind, happily breaking her expectations and those of the village. And now, seeing Naruto's impressive ability, the kunoichi decided to hold nothing back like fighting against Neji._

"Alright, Blondie," Tenten replied, mischief glimmering in her eyes, "Now I'm fired up!" Mid flip, the girl launched a couple trios of kunai at the blonde's legs, slashing shallow wounds as he barely had time to dodge, gritting his teeth in pain as red blood trickled down his thighs and calves. With a bright taunting smile, the brunette dusted off her gi and drew a pair of carbon-steel kama connected by a chain.

"I see you've also trained with new weapons," Naruto replied, pan-faced if not impressed. Without another word, he dashed forward, both blade and guard leaving not a hole. That plus the insane speed at which he sprinted, Itachi's student noticed Tenten's worried and unfocused eyes, as if she couldn't see the attacker well nor counter efficiently. Confident, but not quite cocky, he slashed downwards at Tenten. Sparks flashed with a screech as the sword connected with the chain, before shooting towards the girl, cutting her side. Noticing the spark of pain and unbalance in Tenten's eyes, Naruto immediately slashed across, forcing the brunette to hop backwards.

"Nice, but still not good enough, Uzumaki," Tenten winced, blood trickling down her side and an intense stare pinning the blonde. Cold, hoard, roughness tightened against the leg of the boy, utterly surprising him. Wide-eyed in shock when he looked down, Naruto wondered when the long chain had caught his right leg, shortly before a rough yank threw off all hope of balance. With a hard thump and crash, stars popped into Naruto's unfocused eyes, glancing his head against the hard-packed earth.

'Urgh, damn it all! I should be better than this. Why is it that I'm not excelling?' the cerulean-eyed teen thought with gritted teeth as Tenten approached him.

 **Well, how about not using chakra and not fighting her as an adversary like in the beginning** , Kurama growled, an aura of anger and spite in the comment's wake. **What the heck are you doing, kit? Itachi Uchiha, the prodigy of Konoha, trained you and well.** There was some sort of respect in his voice for one of the two last Uchiha. Not only that, but concern etched the fox's voice, who had grown closer to his container and had a respect for the boy, not that he would ever admit it to him. Truth was that the kid showed kindness and wanted to become friends with the tailed-beast, something that he hadn't experienced in kami knows how long. All in all, though, he had vowed not to help Naruto so much as he didn't know what could happen, such as a lack of care from the Uzumaki.

'Kurama-sensei, I understand. Should I use the Iaido hybrid style?' Naruto asked the tailed-beast as Tenten approached him slowly.

 **I believe you should use just Iaido, Namikaze-Uzumaki. It's your best chance without showing off your secret weapon** , Kurama answered sagaciously, noticing that Naruto still wasn't thinking completely straight. The brunette girl was close to his container, her menacing chained kamas glinting in the sunlight. **And fight like you'd fight a Jounin without** **jutsu.**

The former knucklehead of Konoha sneered wickedly at this, realizing just how much he'd have to treat this as legit. With that, he shook off the last snippets of daze when Tenten was just a few feet away. Legs sprung against the ground, propelling himself upwards with a chakra-infused burst. "Heheheh," he chuckled, slashing down as he sailed over Tenten, blade glancing off her kamas.

Landing behind her without a noise, the black-clad shinobi back-stabbed the white-clad kunoichi. Shining gunmetal black, the katana blade hissed through the air with the faintest of sounds towards the shifting torso of the brunette, whose shocked caramel eyes widened from the audacious sight. With a hammering heart, the brunette pushed off to the side so the blade wouldn't skewer her. Nonetheless, the sharp tip of the sword tore through cloth, skin, tissue, and muscle in along the side, a gush of crimson spurting through the air.

Molten punishment coursed through the brunette's side, eliciting a pained scream as black patches exploded in her eyes. Like an injured predator, Tenten lashed out with the kamas blinded by rage and pain. 'Damn you, Naruto, you're dead!' was the general pattern of her thoughts, although laced with colorful and dark multitudes of curses and insults.

Sharp, wicked crescents of death flayed through the air, whizzing at Naruto relentlessly. Beads of sweat trickled down the handsome face of the teen as he parried and dodged the onslaught of steel with increasing difficulty. Blow after teeth-chattering blow struck against the deftly wielded sword, though the painful force traveled up the shinobi's arm, or fell short as the blonde dodged the strike. And while holes appeared in her guard, the erratically moving chains and girl kept Naruto from taking advantage and counter attacking beyond a couple kicks and punches.

'Damn it, Naruto, focus!' Naruto ducked, with gritted teeth, under twin slashes from the metal crescents that trimmed a small bit of hair. Finally, as if by a miracle, the chain left an unprotected leg. Desperate, the teen shot a leg sweep that hooked behind Tenten's knee, putting himself in a vulnerable position. It was an all or nothing move. If Tenten dodged it, he was done, but if Naruto could knock her off her feet...well she was screwed.

Hard bone, ligament, and muscle snapped forward as the top of the foot collided. A pained grunt from the kunoichi as her knee popped forward as a kama blade streaked down at Naruto's chest. The girl fell forward as one of her kama slashed down, causing the blade to slash into the blonde's left arm like a thousand heated senbon, and collapsed with a heavy grunt.

Growling at the intense pain that fired up his left arm, Naruto rolled away from the weapon specialist of the Konoha 11, blood streaking the dirt as he did so. Channeling the fox's chakra to the wound, he shot to his feet and gripped the katana tightly. Shivers traveled through his body as Tenten struggled to get to her feet, blood streaming from the gash on her side and midsection.

Somehow, standing over the girl with a bloody, black blade Naruto remembered all the pain and beatings he had taken in all the fights he had been put in the same position, heavily beaten but defiant to the end. And it sparked some compassion within him, an understanding of people if you will, truly granting the knowledge to understand the missing-nin he would fight.

Rather than deliver the final blow to knock Tenten unconscious, the Uzumaki planted his sword a foot into the ground. "Tenten, don't move a muscle yet," Naruto said, kindness and concern mixing into the words as he scanned his chain of seals and ripped one from the chain. As paper pressed against the soft skin of the kunoichi's neck, Naruto muttered, "Here you go, panda. The seal should heal you up. And don't worry, I saw that you didn't go all out for awhile. KAI!"

After the command word was shouted, green chakra pooled out over the girl's body and regenerated her cells as the chakra flowed over the wounds and injuries. The scratches and bruises quickly faded as strength pooled back into the shaking girl's form. Skin and tissue knit together along the gashes, cuts, and scrapes just as crimson blood stopped pooling out of Tenten, bringing the color back to pale cheeks.

"Uh...thanks, Naruto," Tenten replied as she felt completely refreshed and new after the fuinjutsu completely healed her a couple minutes later. Taking the blonde's hand, she stood and dusted herself off, shock draining away.

"You have a lot of power and skill, but you're fighting is inconsistent. There are stretches of time where a high level Tokubetsu Jonin skill shines through, but other times its like fighting a mid-or-low rank Chunin," Tenten commented, her eyes shining with the question of whether he'd had any combat experience in kenjutsu.

Naruto chuckled and blushed nervously. "Well...I haven't actually had many combat missions. And, it's becoming harder for me to fight a friend like an enemy." He rubbed the back of his head, calmed by the soft, unruly locks of hair. "Though, if everything works out with the training with Kakashi, I should be able to practice it on an actual mission."

"Huh," Tenten huffed in bafflement, crossing her arms, "I would've thought you'd have done some combat missions by now."

"There you are, Naruto, I've been looking for you," Kakashi interrupted as he flickered into the scene and interrupted Naruto. "Honestly, I don't want to know why you're here and have an audience. You're break is over, so back to training with me." The man had a serious, no-mess aura about him that contradicted the usual laid-back nature.

"Yes, sensei," Naruto replied, eager to crack the nature transformation for the Rasengan. Neither wind nor fire seemed to work yet, but it seemed to him that if not today, he'd have cracked at least one nature transformation tomorrow. So enraptured was the blond, he didn't realize the exasperated look on Kakashi's face. "Same training ground as this morning?"

"Of course, now let's go. I really need to see if you can do the impossible," Kakashi commented, an eye-smile revealing the faith he had of his teacher's son. With that, Kakashi shunshined away in a puff of smoke.

"Ugh, why can't he be more classy with it?" Naruto complained aloud, disappearing in a flash of vermilion and yellow light.

'HUH, YELLOW FLASH?! NARUTO KNOWS _THAT_ JUTSU?' Asuma thought in utter surprise, seriously considering whether Naruto was indeed a clone.

* * *

Itachi POV

It had been a two days since I had witnessed Naruto's fight with Tenten through the crow shadow-clone, filling me with an odd mix of pride and criticism. It reminded me to train the two blondes and Ayame to fight against actual opponents, though the Uzumaki showed more skill than one would expect from the sparring matches I held. I had full faith that, given the time, Naruto would be crucial in crushing Orochimaru and Akatsuki.

Moreover, I had seen Naruto's finally achieving a fire nature and a wind nature transformation for the rasengan, the fire rasengan resembling a spherical spiraling inferno and the wind rasengan resembling a rasengan embedded in a large shuriken. Both seemed quiet powerful, but Naruto required two shadow clones for the nature transformations, draining chakra quicker than necessary, unless he used demon chakra to cut it down to him and one clone. Without fox chakra, the boy could use it up to four times before being completely drained. However, the attack easily overwhelmed the chidori and raikiri without being completely an original jutsu.

"Morning, Itachi-kun! How're you holding up?" Ayame greeted, pecking my now pale cheeks, her caramel hair cascading down her shoulders and a bright smile decorating her face.

Pain and fatigue had wracked my body for the past days as the operation almost reached its completion. Screams echoed from the room as my body healed itself from the damage and disease. It gave me nightmares to say the least, especially considering the fact that my body felt like it was ripping itself apart and imploding at the same time. Moreover, my chakra reserves plummeted at the beginning of the operation, causing a burning sensation as it rapidly increased when I was halfway through the surgery. Even now I felt the unpleasant burn and sore, prickling pain that tortured the body.

"Well, Ayame-hime, you certainly seem quite excited today," I replied with a smile, willing away the horrible thoughts and focusing on my beautiful girlfriend. "Is it because you could actually sleep last night with the lack of nightmares and noises I made?" I added, pulling her close and giving a soft, sweet kiss on the lips, istantly banishing the worries I had.

"Kinda...It's actually more about the fact you were finally able to get a goodnight's sleep, among other things," Ayame confessed, blushing as she played with the gold, silver, ruby, and sapphire raven pendant I had given her.

Curiousity sparked in my eyes at the last words of her statement. "What would those other things be, honey?" I asked, softly caressing her cheek.

"Well, today's the last day of the operation!" Ayame exclaimed, fiercely hugging me and wrapping her lips around mine passionately.

Her lips felt like the softest of clouds and tasted of sweet honey and dates, filling each second with a sense of heaven. Before we made out, however, we both quickly pulled away, fearing that Tsunade may catch us, the very thought sending shivers down my spine. "Heheh, yeah, I almost forgot about that. The torture is almost over!" I replied with enthusiasm, already wishing I could lay on the grass and feel the breeze against my face.

"And it means I finally get to give you the surprise," I muttered to myself. Unbeknownst to Ayame, my left hand flipped the platinum, ruby, diamond, and sapphire encrusted ring in the pocket of my pants. An engagement ring worthy of a princess. It seemed that Fate would give me the riches I deserved after all the effort. With that thought, I closed my eyes and dozed off, having realized that falling asleep before the operations helped make them a little more bearable.

The comforting warmth of Ayame, her soothing spice and flower scent, and the amazing softness of the pillow quickly drew me to slumber, shutting out the outside world momentarily.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Konoha hot springs...

"Ahhh..." Naruto sighed, hot relaxation loosening the knots in his sore muscles. Though he may have been quite embarrassed before, he now felt at ease in the warm public baths, staring at the clouds as the water did its work. "You know, Kakashi-san, I think I should come here more often after training. The water is so refreshing!"

The silver-haired man just nodded in reply, completely zenned out after his body had to endure the extraordinary effort of training Naruto to create two unique jutsus through merging nature chakra with the rasengan. "Well, if you push me as much you did today, yesterday, or the day before when we train, well, I'll bring you here every time," the Hatake chuckled with an eyesmile, feeling more comfortable around his sensei's son.

The prowess the blonde showed along with his speed and strength made Kakashi really see Naruto's heritage of both mother and father, which had brought tears to his eyes the first day Naruto was back, having realized just who he had attacked. "The power and amount of chakra you use, Uzumaki, is insane," Kakashi added with a smile, "Somehow, you keep surprising me, Naruto. Just when I thought I've seen it all, you always manage to surprise."

Flexing his toned body and with sunlight twinkling in his cerulean blue orbs, the smiling blonde replied, "Well, of course I always top expectations, Hatake-san, I'm going to be the Hokage after all. And it's not like I wasn't the son of two of the most promising ninja the Leaf has ever seen." Seriousness seeped like mercury, chilling the energetic demeanor and wiping the white smile away. "But, seriously, if I want to protect my village and friends, I need to bring peace to the shinobi world. Not only that, but Karasu-sensei told me about Akatsuki and how I'll need to defeat them."

Wide-eyed, the Jonin shot up, sitting stock still and straight. "Wait, hold on, he told you about _them_? I thought it would only be a mission to defeat Orochimaru and bring back Sasuke!" he hissed, alarmed at the news and instantly pissed off at Itachi. Of course the Uchiha would train the Genin to become the most powerful shinobi in existence.

"Kakashi-san, I'm sorry but knowing Sasuke, he won't come back easily. Chi and I may be able convince him, but there are no guarantees. However, I will incapacitate and bring back Sasuke if necessary. I'll give you my word that I will bring him back," the foxy boy promised, with the same tone he'd used before, just with a voice lowered an octave. No matter what, Naruto would try to save the Uchiha, even if it meant saving him from himself.

Kakashi, however, felt warm assurance course through his veins, realizing that Naruto would be ready by the time the two would meet. "Just know that your other sensei may send you to train with others on things he can't help you with. For instance, Jiraya may help train you with your sage abilities or something," Kakashi reminded the hyperactive jinchuriki, tussling the blonde's long unruly hair, which solicited a groan from the Namikaze and a laugh from the Hatake.

"Man, that is _so_ uncool," Naruto complained, pouting with crossed arms. Head darting around, he saw that no one else was around and sighed a relieved breath upon realizing he hadn't lost dignity. "If you do that again to patronize me, Kakashi-sensei, I'll beat the crap out of you," he threatened with a menacing expression.

"Whoa, whoa, cool it," Kakashi said, hands up, alarmed, "I was only just joking around. Plus, if I wanted to fight I would have my gear on."

Naruto cocked his head, confused, before remembering where he was: in a hot spring and pretty much in the nude. Catching himself, the blonde exhaled and calmed himself down as he dried himself off and headed for the lockers. The more time spent dilly-dallying, the less time he'd spend training, the less he'd improve, the longer it would take to become Hokage and defeat his enemies.

A half four later, Naruto had begun his strength, speed, and stamina training. Earlier today, Itachi had given him a map of the village with a circuit marked in red, highlighting the directions to a few training grounds. Once there, a seal would need to be released and spawn a random, difficult obstacle course that was to be completed while wearing the hundred pound arm and leg weights.

'Ugh, I'm dead if I get caught doing this,' Naruto thought, facing-palming at the thought of being equated to Might Guy or Rock Lee. Stretching out his legs, arms, hips, neck, and muscles, the blonde finished memorizing the route through the village and steeled his mind. 'I need to put every ounce of effort into this. No holding back. Pumping the needed amount of chakra to keep consistent the entire time.'

As a green leaf glided down and touched the brick-red roof, Naruto launched himself ahead from the poised position at a full-speed dash in the direction of training ground A. Wind howled as the world began to blur and tunnel, distorting sound, shape, and time in the peripheral vision. As he continued to accelerate, the tunnel-vision increased, forcing Naruto to enhance processing speed of the visual cortex.

While the Mangekyo would have gotten rid of the tunnel vision, the jutsu would drain too much chakra per second. He'd be forced to tap into the Kyuubi's reserves before long, which wasn't the aim of the exercise. Moreover, such practice would help chakra control and physical capabilities exponentially. BY the time he finished his thoughts, the blonde had flew past the buildings and arrived at the training ground.

At the other end of the thirty meter training ground, a wooden post stood with a deactivation seal stuck to it. The slightest click signaled that a trap had been triggered. Instantly, a maze of shifting walls and floors sprung up around Naruto, surrounding him in a maze. Naruto sweat-dropped, having an inkling that he was about to be a guinea pig.

* * *

Walking down Konoha's street a few minutes before, a certain (natural) pinkette had just ended her shift at the Konoha hospital. 'Kami, I'm so exhausted after working on Itachi. Even with soldier pills to restore chakra, there is no way I'll be able to be as effective as Tsunade unless I can increase my will and stamina,' Sakura thought, using her forearm to rub sweat from her face. Thankfully, she decided to wear only a red qipao dress-top, black bike-shorts, a pink skirt, and black sandals, keeping her from being unbearably hot.

The bright sun, cloudless sky, and palpable humidity made it obnoxious to wear flak jackets or heavy clothing for any amount of time for the average shinobi. In these conditions, most of the population remained in-doors or wore little clothing, so very little people actually walked around. No one would really try to train and run around without a good reason.

Nonetheless, a flash of yellow streaked by in front of Sakura's light blue eyes across t. At the speed at which the flash flew past, the pinkette thought for a moment that her eyes were deceived. 'What the heck was that? It looked like it may have been a person, but no one in the village can travel that fast!' the Haruno believed. Suddenly, a shot jolted through her clenched fist, chilling the bones.

"Damn it! I have to follow just in case," Sakura muttered through gritted teeth, palms slicked by nervous sweat. A part of her felt pissed that someone suspicious would prevent her from taking the break she sorely needed. Another feared that she may not have the ability or chakra to effectively confront the shinobi.

Shaking her head in frustration, the Chunin kunoichi dashed in the direction of the yellow flash, jumping on the nearest roof and catching the slightest glimpse of yellow go in the direction of training ground A. Whoever it was, she vowed to break them if they even tried to harm her village.

Pumping small amounts of chakra into each leap, Sakura tracked the yellow flash to the training ground. What she saw, however, made worry flash through Sakura's irises. Almost replacing the tan dirt training ground, was a stone dynamic maze.

'Holy shit, is that a trap? Whatever it is, it's not genjutsu,' the pinkette swore, pulling out a pair of carbon-steel kunai as she jumped up on a higer branch of the tree to see inside the corridors.

A blonde, blurry figure bounded up and over the walls and darted through the corridors, the person's speed just faster than the maze. Or so it seemed to Sakura. As the boy made it past the halfway mark, a section of the wall slammed down in front of him. Rather than slow down, however, he sped up and in three bounds cleared the top of the wall and leaped over two corridors in a yellow flash. Landing on the ground, he skidded to a partial stop and began sprinting and redirecting himself accordingly, allowing only a glimpse of his face to be seen.

'Blonde, messy hair passing his shoulders, cerulean blue eyes, flak jacket, black pants, tall body, and chiseled features. Plus he makes a flash of yellow. Is this some kind of sick joke?!' Sakura thought, sickness crawling into her stomach. Everything about this person led to a single conclusion: the Yondiame Hokage.

As the streak of yellow reached the end of the maze, the exit section shut closed instantly. A loud crash and a cloud of earth and dust shot through the either side of the wall. As it cleared, the blonde stood in front of a post while the wall had a gaping hole through it, sorrounded by several cracks and fractures. Sakura gasped, as the hole reminded her of Tsunade's rampages.

"Who the fuck is that guy?" Sakura murmured, confused.

"Seriously, Sakura-san, you don't remember me? I mean, you saw me at the hospital," a vaguely familiar, cocky voice questioned.

Sakura whirled around and lashed out with the kunai at the guy who landed next to her. As the blades sunk into the body, it disappeared before she could register his face. "How in the...shadow clones," Sakura groaned, getting a headache as she realized who it was.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed, turning back to the clearing. Unfortunately, the training ground was completely deserted, including the maze. "Damn it! When I get my hands on you..."

 **To be continued...**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Please review or PM if you like the story and/or want to voice what you would like to see in the future. PM me if you have constructive criticism (easier for me to change things that way).**

 _A blonde, blurry figure bounded up and over the walls and darted through the corridors, the person's speed just faster than the maze. Or so it seemed to Sakura. As the boy made it past the halfway mark, a section of the wall slammed down in front of him. Rather than slow down, however, he sped up and in three bounds cleared the top of the wall and leaped over two corridors in a yellow flash. Landing on the ground, he skidded to a partial stop and began sprinting and redirecting himself accordingly, allowing only a glimpse of his face to be seen._

 _'Blonde, messy hair passing his shoulders, cerulean blue eyes, flak jacket, black pants, tall body, and chiseled features. Plus he makes a flash of yellow. Is this some kind of sick joke?!' Sakura thought, sickness crawling into her stomach. Everything about this person led to a single conclusion: the Yondiame Hokage._

 _As the streak of yellow reached the end of the maze, the exit section shut closed instantly. A loud crash and a cloud of earth and dust shot through the either side of the wall. As it cleared, the blonde stood in front of a post while the wall had a gaping hole through it, sorrounded by several cracks and fractures. Sakura gasped, as the hole reminded her of Tsunade's rampages._

 _"Who the fuck is that guy?" Sakura murmured, confused._

 _"Seriously, Sakura-san, you don't remember me? I mean, you saw me at the hospital," a vaguely familiar, cocky voice questioned._

 _Sakura whirled around and lashed out with the kunai at the guy who landed next to her. As the blades sunk into the body, it disappeared before she could register his face. "How in the...shadow clones," Sakura groaned, getting a headache as she realized who it was._

 _"Naruto, what are you doing?" Sakura exclaimed, turning back to the clearing. Unfortunately, the training ground was completely deserted, including the maze. "Damn it! When I get my hands on you..."_

Her inner just cocked an eyebrow at the pissed off Sakura, wondering what exactly was there to be mad about. "Hey, Outer, sorry to break it to you, but with his speed, you won't catch Naruto-kun."

'Wait what the hell?! Since when did you stop calling Naruto a 'baka', Inner?' the pinkette replied, thoroughly confused and a little ticked off from her alter-ego's lack of confidence in her.

"Isn't it obvious? When he came back looking like the Yondiame. Putting Kakashi-sensei in the ER was an added bonus," the alter-ego replied cheerfully.

'Ugh, I really can't believe how annoying you are, Inner,' Sakura replied, rubbing her temples. She didn't have time for this. In any case, all she had to do was go hang with Ino and her teammate would definitely show up.

"The only problem would be their kissing. I mean can't they go a half-hour around each other without being in a lip-lock?" Sakura grumbled, annoyed that she now had two hyper blondes on her hands. Cracking her knuckles, the pinkette swore to make Kakashi's friend pay.

Without another objective in mind, she ran to her home to rest and take a sorely needed shower.

* * *

Naruto POV

Ten minutes later

"Damn all the Uchihas, they're nothing but trouble," I panted while sprinting towards the second to last training ground. Legs and arms burned in exhaustion despite all the chakra I pooled into the limbs. Shining flashes of grey steel whizzed past with the softest screech, barely missing.

"What is it with your fucking obsession with shuriken, Itachi?!" I groaned, looking at the dozens of shuriken embedded in the thick trunks of the tall beech trees marking the path I took in the forest.

Every crackle of the branches made my skin crawl. After all, training ground 44 wasn't called the Forest of Death for nothing. 'The Chunin exams proved that. Thank Kami I am much stronger than back then. Giant killer animals shouldn't be too much of an issue.'

A lance of sunlight shone on the faintest web of ninja wire and chakra strings a few yards ahead. Obviously a well laid trap. Grunting, I launched myself into the branches of the trees. The crunch of earth cracking followed as I flew twelve feet and pushed off the branch, bracing myself for another trap to trigger as I traveled above it. When nothing happened, I looked back and noticed nothing off.

"Whew, at least he didn't expect I'd figure that one out." It seemed a little off, though, things shouldn't be this easy, considering no scratches or bruises adorned this body. The other courses, in fact, seemed more difficult.

The crackle of branches dead ahead was the only thing that gave any form of warning. Striped, heavily muscled, and large, a huge tiger revealed itself swiping its tanto-length claws with a low growl. Without anytime to avoid injury, I leaped backwards to avoid instant death. Ivory claws glistened in the sun as they careened towards me, the tips ripping through the jumpsuit and and slashing a three pronged gash across my chest.

Pain erupted and lanced hotter than the sun as spots clouded the world. Ribbons of warm, glistening, ruby blood flew through the air and the force of the blow changed the trajectory of the jump. Crushing force of immense proportion knocked out every ounce of breath as I collided into the ground. Lungs burned for air while the bleeding gashes protested against any form of movement.

I sputtered and gasped, fixing my swimming vision on the giant tiger as it dropped gracefully on the ground. Its eyes dazzled and hypnotized, predatory yet mirroring the fear and pain that fought self-control. The majestic aura it had almost overpowered the need to defend against the tiger. Almost.

Channeling Kurama's chakra to the torn up chest, I took deep breaths to bring clarity to the world. As the feline stalked slowly with steady eyes, I gritted my teeth and channeled chakra to both legs and arms. The predator tensed it muscles, poised like a spring, ready to strike and rip apart its prey in an instant.

"Not gonna happen," I spat in determination, rolling out of the way as the tiger pounced, only feeling its wake.

I sprung to my feet before the tiger could recovered and poured wind chakra into either fist as I rushed it. However, the giant animal whirled around and lashed out with a blood chilling roar, a paw batting the flying punch. As the condensed chakra around my fist collapsed from the parry, it blew outwards, knocking the tiger back with the help of enhanced strength. On the other hand, the parry launched me through the air in a blur, which, as I caught my bearings, gave a boost towards the tower. A few hundred yards from the orange mountain of killer muscle and bone I smiled at the tiger and decided I immediately liked it.

Scraping the last bits of chakra in my own reserves, I dashed through the beech trees pushing myself past my max. Fresh and warm wind soothed the jitteriness of having gotten into a tight scrape, while the trees and animals grew into an impressive collage of colors. Within a few minutes, I reached the tower that basked in the golden radiance of the sun, the last note scrawled on the tower's beige roof.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to show up?" a sultry, female voice hissed, eerily familiar, "Itachi Uchiha's prized student, the Uzumaki, isn't it?" Again that same sultry voice that made the skin crawl and an electric excitement shoot down the spine, though this time from close behind judging by the familiar scent.

Slow enough to not be threatening but fast enough not to seem suspicious, I turned to face the woman bracing for a fight. Instead, I got the shock of my life when the spiky purple hair, pretty face, and revealing clothing registered.

"You're the awesome snake lady that proctored the Chunin Exams. The really intimidating one that licked my cheek after cutting it with a kunai," I exclaimed in complete surprise. The last person I expected to meet today was her, even more so that she knew who my sensei really was.

"Hm, so you must be that annoying blonde dobe brat with the kill-me orange jumpsuit. The jinchuriki. Well, in that case, pleasure to see you again," the purplenette kunoichi said with a smile and a thumbs up.

'...Well that wasn't the reaction I expected...' I thought, completely baffled by her carefree and more friendly attitude. Usually the latter comment earned a punch or a screaming at, yet here was this person who seemed reassured by my being a demon. The very thought rendered me speechless and quite brain-dead, considering she was around for the disaster.

"Heheheh, I guess you aren't used to that, Naruto. And you probably don't remember my name either. The name's Anko Mitarashi," the kunoichi stated and extended a hand, still smiling.

"Nice to see you again, Anko-san," I replied lamely, shaking her hand in a daze. "So, why exactly are you here?"

Anko raised an eyebrow as if to question her first assessment. In a flash, her grip tightened and twisted my arm behind my back, grinding my bones together, letting a cry of surprise from my mouth. "I'm the last obstacle of course," she hissed, toxic, in my ear as her warm breath caressed my cheek. The mixture of pleasure, fear, and pain rendered me immobile, leaving my body and mind to fight over the flood of contradicting instincts and responses. In essence, Anko had showed her colors of being a master manipulator, unyielding in her grasp.

Grunting from the pain and exhaustion that hit like a finisher, I gathered fox chakra and let it drip through my chakra system. "Heh, call me impressed, Anko-san, you're quite the manipulative one," I complimented through clenched teeth, buying time as I built up more chakra to be at my disposal. With half my willpower suppressing sweating or fidgeting as tells, I needed that time to gather chakra.

"Why thank you, hun'," Anko murmured sweetly, this time nipping my ear lustily before kicking out my knees, "So you should know that you're plan of building up demon chakra won't work!" She sneered in triumph as I helped in pain as I fell foreword, only to be wrenched back up from my arm.

"Damn you for being so good," I barked, the laughs tainted with pain and annoyance. One thing she didn't realize was the chakra I built up should be enough to toss her away and boost me enough to get to the seal. Steeling myself, I released the gathered chakra into my limbs and in a swift motion whipped my arm forwards and struck Anko's wrist so that she released my arm and careened into a tree with a thump. I hadn't rushed more than a few yards when a wall of pain slammed into my stomach, sending blood, spit, and breath explode from my mouth.

Wheezing, I crumpled to one knee as an enraged Anko cocked and launched a second quick punch. Rolling off the branch to avoid the blow, I fell to eight feet to the next wide branch and landed with another grunt just as her fist split the branch above her with a thundering crack. Alarms blared in my head as my body warned that my reserves were running low and a couple more blows from the psycho lady could have dangerous results. Trench coat billowing around the cold-eyed, shadow-faced kunoichi, icy fear crawled its way up my throat as I realized why she reminded me of Orochimaru.

"Kid, you better be ready for the greatest smack-down of your young life. You just pissed off the wrong snake," Anko chuckled darkly, venom flashing in her eyes. The sight almost scared the shit out of me, though I knew it would give me more nightmares than I cared to have.

Calling upon Kurama's chakra, I rolled back to the trunk of the tree, sensing imminent danger. Splintered wood and bark erupted, several snakes having smashed into the branch, recoiling back almost immediately to Anko's sleeve. "Da _M_ N _y_ _o_ u A _nko_ ," I half growled, my voice dropping a half-octave as the demon chakra flowed through my system.

Before stopping it, the chakra flowed into the sharingan, activating its three tomoe form, though not the mangekyo as it would use to much chakra. In the meantime, muscles, bone, and sinew hardened and bulged giving a more menacing aspect. The customary aura of chakra, however, was too faint to see, as the chakra Kurama gave wasn't enough to overwhelm the system.

Anko froze in confusion as she saw the odd dojutsu, more menacing than its supposedly weaker blood red brother. "Wh-what the heck? H-how i-is that p-possible?" the Mitarashi shuddered, more pissed than fearful. Launching another assault, the snakes attacked in a wall-like fashion.

With a wild grin and four hand signs, I released a stream of churned chakra in a torrent of blazing flames, shouting "Fire release: Dragon Fire jutsu". The snakes, sensing the incoming heat attempted to coil around the flaming torrent, only to be quickly incinerated to ashes.

Anko shouted in pain as she jumped out of the way, clutching a slightly burnt left arm. "Hn, you're good for a dobe, Blondie!" she hissed, disappearing too fast for the sharingan to catch.

Rustling leaves from behind gave barely enough warning to duck, so a trio of shuriken grazed my cheek and hair before embedding into the wood. Everything screamed to head to the tower and release the seal, but some sense of foreboding said otherwise. It was too open for a safe win. Moreover, with Anko in the shadows, it could easily be a trap.

I turned and bounded up the tree to find a better vantage point to spot Anko. Also, the angles of attack would be cut down by half at the top of the canopy. As I reached out an arm to grab the third to last sturdy branch a searing pain from the forearm followed a flash of steel and spurt of warm, coppery crimson. Twin metal senbon glinted in the sun stained with droplets of blood, forcing extra effort to grasp the branch. Shooting out the other hand to retain the grip, I hopped into a crouch and scanned the area with the dojutsu, heart pounding a mile a minute.

When I didn't notice a single movement, I groaned in frustration and used the shadow clone jutsu to summon four clones. "Alright, back to back and make sure to warn the rest of us if you see something," I whispered, making sure that no one else could here.

Not a half-minute passed before she fell into the trap. "Anko-sensei's is ten meters ahead and little down of me," the clone behind me whispered.

"Alright, be prepared to initiate the combo attack we worked on on my mark," I replied, channeling equal amounts of chakra to each hand.

"Aye, Boss," the four clones replied still in a whisper and split into pairs as they began to work on forming the elemental rasengans.

At this point, the adrenalin and demon chakra that flowed through my right arm completely blocked off the pain of the senbon embedded into it. Moreover, from Anko's patterns, it was evident she would attack a little later and begin draining her prey physically and psychologically before the coup d'grace.

'She probably doesn't know about this, though,' I thought with a shiver of excitement as the elemental rasengans quickly took and held shape. The ever familiar flaring flame sphere and shuriken-like wind sphere materialized quickly, thrumming with power. Three clones created a rasengan of their own while the last used the kawarimi twice, replacing himself with a log before replacing me with him.

Said clone created a grapefruit-sized rasengan and charged Anko with the other clones, shouting, "Take Psycho Lady out!"

Creeping silently through the shadows, I watched as the clones charged Anko's position, the four rasengans preventing her from sensing the fire and wind elemental variations. The spiky-haired kunoichi sighed and shook her head. "Stupid brat, oh well..." Anko murmured.

"Release!" she shouted and a sword-whip materialized in her hand before catching ablaze with fire chakra. A flick of the wrist and the blazing weapon snapped through the air and sheared through the first clone before it could react, dispelling it easily as it jumped towards her. The clones however didn't relent, speeding up and more aware of the flaming serpentine blade.

Again she lashed out whirling the blade around in a flurry of strokes. The lead clone narrowly side-stepped the first blow so the sword half-burned half-sheered through the branch. Ducking under the second and bending back to dodge the third, it seemed he may reach her. Then the snake summoner simply cracked the whip, causing the blades to tangle and sheer through the clone.

"Please, Naruto, this is too easy," the woman taunted, quickly sweeping the blade whip to the side so fast, the third clone would've been decapitated had it been a last clone skidded to a halt, imitating how 'd respond, giving a defiant glare and growl as he locked eyes with the kunoichi. "Alright, I'd really rather not hurt the hunk of a body you have, so all I ask is you dispel the rasengan and surrender. If you do, you fail the exercise but no one gets hurt and the match is over," she tempted coldly.

"And if I don't?" the clone replied, buying a couple more seconds so I'd get the drop on Anko.

"Then you'll have quite a few scars from cuts and burns," she replied, cracking the sword-whip to emphasize her point. "So what's your answer?"

"You lose!" I shouted launching myself with both elemental rasengans outstretched. Triumph gleamed in my eyes as Anko could only create a shield of snake arms as she whirled around wide-eyed in shock at the blonde bullet that flew her way holding two powerful looking variants of the Yondiame's signature jutsu.

As the spiralling spheres of chakra collided with the mass of writhing snakes and each other, fusing for an instant to create a minature blinding ringed star. The fused rasengan collapsed and erupted in massive explosion. The ear-piercing screeches of the snakes quickly drowned out as a wave of blinding white heat and sound launched the kunoichi back. A loud crash followed the explosion as Anko was embedded in a tree trunk.

Several trees stood with scorched or shredded branches and trunks from the combination of cutting wind and burning fire of each rasengan's explosion. The Mitarashi herself held several bruises, burn marks, and cuts from the explosion along her arms and face, while her trench coat lay in tatters. She groaned in pain, breathing heavily from exhaustion very much like myself as the demon chakra receded and the effects of drained stamina hit like a train.

"Damn it, brat, you how'd you learn to do that? You aren't as thick as you let on," Anko chuckled, albeit a little raspy.

"Courtesy of Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake," I replied with a grin, crouching as my knees almost buckled.

"You know that the fight isn't over until you reach the tower, right? Technically, if you don't reach it in time you still lose," Anko said after a few seconds of silence, relaxing visibly. "And before you think you beat me, I went easy on you, Blondie."

I rolled my eyes, knowing she was right on both accounts. As much as I hated to admit it, if Anko really wanted to beat me, she totally could have. In fact, rather than fighting me, she seemed to be analyzing me more than anything. Annoyed by the thought, I used the thick tree as support to push myself up and made my way to the tower, the two hundred meters an eternity in this state. Moreover, the senbon had begun to burn once more, wearing me out. Hopping clumisily from tree branch to tree branch, my vision hazed and became unfocused. Labored breathing and copious sweat kept any form of respite as far away as the tower.

'So tired and still halfway to go...'

* * *

Yamanka clan compound

"Hey, Forehead!" I called, waving to the pinkette. I hadn't had as much time with my friend as I would've liked due to her shifts at the hospital and my training schedule. "It's great to see you," I said, wrapping her in a friendly hug.

"It's great to see you, too, Ino-pig," my friend replied with a smile in her green eyes. She wore a form-hugging red blouse, a skirt, spandex shorts, and a red headband that brought out her namesake.

"How were you were able to get off early from your shift?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Tsunade wasn't exactly known for caring about her apprentices' well-being, especially when performing operations. The extra light in Sakura's eyes gave the gist. "You've got to be kidding me! Karasu-sensei is finished with the operation?!" I squealed in excitement.

Normally I would've blushed at the outburst, but at this point I didn't care. I had come to view the Uchiha as a caring older brother with unbelievable power, finesse, and a surprising amount of kindness. I fist pumped when my friend nodded. The gold sun low to the west framed the clouds and Konoha gorgeously, indicating a beautiful sunset.

"Anyways, Ino, I was wondering if you wanted to come on a girls night with Hinata, Tenten, and me," Sakura offered hopefully and hesitantly.

I stopped for a moment twirling my hair in thought. On one hand I wanted to join my friends, though on the other, I wanted to celebrate with Naruto. 'Ino, you should go to your friends. Naruto is your boyfriend but you haven't really hung out with your friends in a while,' the Inner Me interjected with the voice of reason. She did seem to have a point. "Sure, I'd be happy to tag along with you guys!" I replied with a happy grin.

"Perfect, in that case we need to get all dressed up, don't you think?" Sakura asked, dropping the bag she had on her shoulder. The stunning confidence acted as a reminder that she, too, had changed.

"You sure? Where exactly would be going, then?" I asked, uneasy. Something seemed off about her plan, since most places didn't care much about the kind of clothing, unless it was one of those expensive places or clubs. All things considered, this definitely would be something surprising.

Sakura nodded, so I let her into the empty house, warm and perfumed with the aroma of blooming spring. I led Sakura quickly down the hall to the stairs in order to avoid my parents in the living room. Taking the red oak stairs two at a time, we bounded to my room's door, decorated with a 'KEEP OUT' note in crimson lettering and attached by a senbon.

Sakura shot me an incredulous look, to which I just giggled and blushed, realizing how much of a surprise Sakura would have when she saw my room. Without further ado, I unsealed the chakra lock on the door and pushed it open. Quite spacious, the floor of my room lay in a slight mess, revealing just how much I had changed.

The far wall had a few targets impaled by senbon and shuriken, along with a few maps labeled Kakashi, Naruto, Itachi, Dad, Mom, and Sakura that showed labeled movements around the village chronologically. On the carpet, arm, leg, core, and dumbbell weights lay strewn about in the middle of the room. Next to them were ink pots, brushes, and chakra paper beside ten organized stacks of completed fuinjutsu seals. The most surprising thing, however, was the violet-sheathed katana, the indigo wakizashi, pair of cerulean tanto, and stacks of magazines for weapons and shinobi gear. That, plus the stereo playing 'The Final Countdown' album revealed just how much I'd transformed into a kunoichi.

Sakura gasped, sea-green eyes the size of plates. "Wh-what t-the...Are you alright, Ino?" she asked, concern furrowing her brow. "I mean, all the fashion and beauty magazines are gone and the room looks like it belongs to a spartan Jonin," the pinkette explained.

"Heh, heh, well let's just say I started taking my ninja career seriously ever since Sas..." I began to say, rubbing the back of my neck, realizing how little Sakura knew about me now. I stopped short as Sakura froze, a sadness perforating her eyes. 'Well shit, she still likes _that_ Uchiha,' I thought with disapproval. I mean how could she like that cold jerk, unless.

"Oh, Kami, don't tell me..." I grumbled in frustration, "Are you still pining after the Uchiha bastard?"

Sakura's icy face quickly turned to one of guilt and annoyance. "Hey at least I didn't pull a full 180 and ended up fighting with you over Naruto, Ino-pig," she said in a half-hearted defense.

I actually chuckled at that bitter-sweet statement. On the one hand, she still was stuck on the shit-for-brains arrogant emo, but on the other Ino and Sakura had no motive to fight one another anymore. "Look, Sakura, I understand that he was your crush, teammate, and - I guess - friend. However, Sasuke Uchiha never treated anyone with an iota of respect, he mistreated you and Naruto, and only has a hard on for revenge against whomever wiped out his clan. The guy is absolutely shallow, I mean he tried to kill Naruto because the Uzumaki was better than him."

Sakura looked down in shame and nodded, the slight slump in her shoulders telling me that she had only barely hung onto the emo ninja. For some reason, she seemed to just let go of him right then and there. With a deep breath, the pinkette replied, "Ino, I know. I barely held onto him. at this point the only reason I want him back was for the sake of old times and because he became a part of me similar to how Naruto felt about him. Anyway, I'm sure I'll find someone else."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey all, thanks for all the support for the story! Sorry for the long wait for the 13th chapter, I haven't been doing too well. Shout out to Guy Fawkess, Tempest12312, Nayara Vanni, Hellblader, NamelessOne0, neoneoist, Ektor234, Midnightsince, and others for following the story since the beginning. I know it's been kinda rocky, but thanx for the comments and the PMs, everyone! You all rock! Oh and before I forget, I don't own any rights to the Naruto or Naruto Shippuden characters, unfortunately.**

 **Now on with the show...er, story.**

* * *

Previously in Chapter 13

Yamanaka residence: Ino and Sakura

Ino POV

 _"Oh, Kami, don't tell me..." I grumbled in frustration, "Are you still pining after the Uchiha bastard?"_

 _Sakura's icy face quickly turned to one of guilt and annoyance. "Hey at least I didn't pull a full 180 and ended up fighting with you over Naruto, Ino-pig," she said in a half-hearted defense._

 _I actually chuckled at that bitter-sweet statement. On the one hand, she still was stuck on the shit-for-brains arrogant emo, but on the other Ino and Sakura had no motive to fight one another anymore. "Look, Sakura, I understand that he was your crush, teammate, and - I guess - friend. However, Sasuke Uchiha never treated anyone with an iota of respect, he mistreated you and Naruto, and only has a hard on for revenge against whomever wiped out his clan. The guy is absolutely shallow, I mean he tried to kill Naruto because the Uzumaki was better than him."_

 _Sakura looked down in shame and nodded, the slight slump in her shoulders telling me that she had only barely hung onto the emo ninja. For some reason, she seemed to just let go of him right then and there. With a deep breath, the pinkette replied, "Ino, I know. I barely held onto him. at this point the only reason I want him back was for the sake of old times and because he became a part of me similar to how Naruto felt about him. Anyway, I'm sure I'll find someone else."_

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

Itachi POV

Somewhere in Fire Country

Large glass windows dominated the Eastern wall on the fourth-story of the mansion, revealing the rich paintings and works of art that adorned the cream patterned walls of the exhibition room and personal office, illuminated by warm light from hooded lamps. It seemed that the black-market crime boss had full confidence that none would be able to slip past the building's defenses even if it was found. Way too cocky. Without the blinds drawn, the squad of B ranked nin could easily be spotted guarding the inside, while the sixteen thugs and eight C-rank nin patrolling the balcony remained in full view. I grinned at the thought of testing out my new abilities on a relatively safe mission. Plus the 200,000 ryo would help supplement the fortune I saved. Taking a breath to calm the jittering nerves, I thought back to the events that led up this:

 **Begin Flashback**

"You have to be fucking shitting me, Anko!" I groaned in furstration, it hadn't been two weeks and the Uzumaki had been taken the hospital unconscious again. "I asked you to push Naruto to his limit, not put him in the hospital!" The news had shaken me up so much, I leaped to my feet from the hospital bed. The stinging and pins and needles from returning blood flow further unsettling my already precarious balance.

"Whoa, Karasu-san, get back in bed. You shouldn't be recovered from the therapy yet," a certain silvernette, Icha-Icha reading, cyclops shinobi said, steadying me.

Anko only nodded in response, her wounds already healed thanks to the Fifth Hokage. "Yeah, take it easy. Your chakra levels and power maybe greater, but you still just got through a major, heavy procedure."

I gritted my teeth and grunted in defiance, hating that both my friends were right. Truth was I couldn't stand it anymore. I would've loved to bust out the hospital at that very moment, not caring about the consequences. With a balled fist I tried to calm down, in vain as I realized I had snapped at Anko. I looked in Kakashi's eyes, avoiding Anko to hide the shame I would feel.

Another lungful of the antiseptic, horrifyingly clean hospital air pushed me past the breaking point. "Well, fuck that, Kakashi. No way in hell am I going to stay in bed or, kami forbid, the hospital for a moment longer," I growled, shaking of his hands and attempting to preform a shunshin with no results. 'Damn the anti shunshin seal they placed on the room'. Before Kakashi or Anko could grasp the gravity of the situation, I half barged half stumbled my way out through the open window and activated a shunshin mid air with an elated shout of freedom: "HAHAHA! You can't keep this ninja locked up, motherfuckers!"

No sooner had I said this, did I find myself at the favorite bar of the Chunin and Jounin of the village. What I hadn't counted on, however, was the scene that faced me.

"Wait, what?!" I whispered in alarm, noticing my blonde student kunoichi and presumably her friends sitting at the bar with two bottles of sake in front of them. Moreover, the lowered flashing lighting and music playing indicated that today was indeed Friday night. Just my luck. I can't even have a drink in a peaceful environment. The day just kept on getting better and better.

"Well, looks like me, Kurenai, and Guy aren't the only ones regretting this particular situation. What's up, Karasu?" A gruff, vaguely scratchy voice called from beside me. My head turned to face the speaker sitting at a booth containing the aforementioned shinobi plus Asuma.

"Hn, sorry, what?" I asked, not sure I heard him quite clearly, before realizing that their kunoichi students all seemed to be at the bar.

"NOT YOU, TOO!" All three jounin suddenly shouted so loud, my ears began to ring.

"Ugh, Kakashi's cool attitude is rubbing off on you," Kurenai mumbled, causing my cheeks to heat up in indignation.

"Wait, what, no! I just didn't realize what you were talking about until I noticed that some of the girls were your students, too," I replied quickly, shaking my outstretched arms, horrified that someone could think such a thing. Especially since I mastered that skill before Kakashi.

"Well, Karasu-san, you're forgiven," Guy said with a big smile and a thumbs up, scooting over to make room for me.

Sitting down on the cushioned booth, I replied, "Thanks, I really need to get hammered hard. The past weeks have been a little too much for my taste."

"I hear you," Kurenai responded flagging down a waiter and placing an order for four glasses and four bottles of sake. "I really don't understand why they kept the drinking law after the Third Ninja War, I mean they're only teenager and aren't on the battlefield daily."

"Tell me about it," I muttered, picking at the black cotton gi nervously. I still didn't know if Guy knew the truth, despite the fact that I knew the taijutsu master pretty well, having trained with him. Deciding to hint to this, I asked the very subtle question, "Does Guy know the truth?".

"Yep, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi explained the whole story, which I highly approve of considering your kekki genkai, Itachi-san," Guy said in a low voice, barely audible to even my highly tuned ears.

"Good, I need to discuss something very important with you, Guy-senpai, that pertains to Naruto and Ino, since you probably understand kids better than any of us." Before I could continue further, Asuma signaled for us to be silent as the waiter returned with a tray full of booze. With a quick bow, he placed the bottles and glasses in front of us before walking back to the bar, which noticeably had half of the girls missing. A quick scan revealed that they were dancing with some Chunin and Tokebetsu Jonin, Genma being the only one I recognized.

At that I almost spit out the shot of sake I had just drank. "Holy crap, is Genma dancing with Sakura?!" I shouted in alarm, alerting my three companions to the scene.

"What, it's legal," Kurenai said, clearly unfazed and unaware of the dangerous situation.

I just shook my head in exasperation and clarified. "No, I am worried for Genma. Have you ever been punched by Sakura?" I spouted. Guy and the couple immediately roared with laughter at what I meant, clearly understanding that Genma better behave himself.

"So how exactly was it that Sakura punched you? Did you perhaps engage in some unyouthful behavior?" Guy questioned, turning a disapproving glare towards me.

"No, Sakura just assumed that I was an assassin of some sort," I clarified quickly, knowing that the glare the bushy-browed Jonin sent could lead to some grueling contest which I frankly wasn't up for. Leaving my answer at that, I forwent the shot glass and chugged sake directly from the bottle. The warm liquid instantly warmed my core as I drained half a pint of it. The quality was decent, but really all I cared about was getting drunk, hangovers be damned.

"KAMI! THAT'S YOUR SENSEI, INO?" a tipsy high-pitch voice asked in disbelief. The volume and pitch instantly gave me a headache, cursing fate with every insult I knew. The voice belonged to the panda-haired girl under Guy's tutelage - Tenten. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious as six pairs of teen eyes locked onto me. I had every urge to get the heck out of their, but against my better judgement, I just ignored them and took another mind numbing swig of alcohol.

"Uh, yeah, so what?" Ino retorted confused as to why the big deal.

"How is it not a big deal? I mean for starters he's young -only like four to six years older than us- and secondly he's such a hottie!" Sakura replied as if Ino was retarded. Her exclamation however didn't go unnoticed by the three Jonin I was sitting with nor by me.

"Aw, crap, I'm screwed. Where should I hide?" I hissed, panicking at the attention I was getting. This couldn't possibly turn out well if I didn't escape. Before they could answer, however, a smashing in of the doors caught our collective attention.

"There you are, Karasu! You're coming with us, now," the familiar voices of Anko and Kakashi announced, annoyance tinging their words. By the harder breathing, it seemed as if they had been searching this entire time.

Kurenai gave me a pointed look as if to ask what was going on. I mouthed "I escaped from the hospital", to which she just threw her head back and started laughing at the whole mess I'd gotten myself into. Not only did I have drunk teenage girls after me now, I had two ex-ANBU after me as well. Just my fucking luck. Using a genjutsu to cover the fact I had just preformed a kawarimi, I ran through the cool night air out of the bar's alleyway and into the streets, pumping a continuous flow of chakra to my legs. The wind tore at my long hair, whipping it across my face so hard I was sure I'd have red streaks from it. All I hoped was that I went fast enough to reach the Hokage Tower before the others so that I could seek refuge.

In mere seconds, I had arrived and bounded up the steps of the tower, silently rushing past the guards. After all, life and freedom depended on a quick arrival to a haven. Skidding to a stop at the oak doors of Tsunade's office, I realized that I wasn't breathing with difficulty nor sweating. Clearly whatever Tsunade had done definitely worked like a marvel. I felt as fresh as when I was an ANBU captain.

"Tsunade-sama, it's Karasu, can you open up?" I asked politely, knocking on the double doors to her office. 'Hopefully she isn't too pissed off about me being out of bed and all,' I thought nervously.

"Hm, come on in," she said without a single slur, thankfully meaning that the Sanin hadn't started drinking again.

Stepping into the room with a smile, I realized that although I had drunk enough alcohol to be drunk, my reflexes seemed to be unimpaired at the slightest. "You've got to be fucking kidding me?! I can't even get a buzz!"

Tsunade chuckled with a sadistic mirth, "Well, let's just say the intensity of your chakra speeds up your body's processes naturally from healing to your metabolism, like a diluted form of Naruto's abilities. Let's just say it'll take quite a few bottles of sake to get you intoxicated."

I groaned feeling that this was somehow payback for leaving the village in the first place. "Alright, whatever, but aren't you the least surprised that I'm out of the hospital only a couple days after the procedure," I replied, pulling out and sitting in a chair across from the blonde. The very fact that the Hokage showed little to no surprise nor anger was intriguing at the very least. After all, she took medicine quite seriously.

"Not at all, Karasu-san. See, I knew you would recover faster than normal, just not exactly how much. Looks like you accomplished it four times faster than normal without even much physical therapy," Tsunade said with a slight sliver of glee, clearly meaning that her guess was close. "Oh, and you should get ready because you've got company approaching in a few seconds."

I gulped, a cool very rational fear welling up. "Can you send me on a B-rank mission, solo?" I pleaded the blonde Sanin.

 **End Flashback**

Flashing a grin, I made a cross with my fingers and pumped and divided a great amount of chakra. Without a sound, three other versions of myself appeared beside me on the branch, all crouching and clutching the crimson and black katana strapped to their hips. With a nod they launched themselves through the air to get in position. I activated my sharingan, my vision lurching with a renewed sharpness and clarity. No more did the outlines of things blur together and no more was haze prevalent in my peripheral vision. Instead, every movement had more clarity and sharpness than ever.

Without a moment more of hesitation, I silently leaped to one corner of the roof of the mansion, the other clones following suit. If we were quick enough, the outside guards would be dead before an alarm could be risen. One nod later, we leaped down on the four unsuspecting squads of six men. Unsheathing the blade, I made a lightning quick slash at the neck of the first thug, cleaving of his head with a quiet thunk. Before I had hit the ground, I followed up with another to wide slashes across the chest of the next too thugs, crimson blood spraying through the air. A flick of the left wrist and two kunai took out the next two guards a fraction of a second later. Catching the eyes of the two shinobi, noticing that they were about to shout for help and perform simple fire jutsu, I activated the Sharingan Genjutsu, rendering them paralyzed and under my control, which meant slitting their own throats with the tanto they had at their hips.

The three caws of a raven that followed signified that the clones had executed their directive in complete synchronization. 'Way too weak,' I thought with a smirk. An assassination mission involving mid level missing nin. It was a joke for my skill. Without anymore hesitation, I gathered the usual amount of chakra for the jutsu and clapped my hands together. A compressed torrent of wind launched at the nearest window, shattering the glass and launching it towards the missing nin guarding the room. Faster and more powerful than before, the gale had torn across the room and into the large target just as he realized that the window had been shattered. Smashing into the wall, the loud groan and crack of bones echoed through the warm room, some glass shards impaling the man's shoulders.

However, before four shuriken could strike his chest and neck, the shinobi disappeared replaced by a chair. Already having gauged my opponent's move, I quickly ducked as a trio of kunai whizzed through the air, embedding themselves in the wall. With a quick flurry of seals, I shouted "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu", exhaling a blast of dozens of small fireballs around a hail of shuriken I had tossed at the enemy, flying at blinding speed.

Once again, the attack became more powerful than I had expected, the fireballs blazing white hot. As the cloud of projectiles flew toward the large, rugged man, he tried to dive aside. However, he jumped from his bad leg, crying out in pain and resulting in a couple burning gashes slashing his chest. Before black-clad ninja could recover, however, I zoomed toward him at lightning speed delivering a succession of kicks and punches to his stomach. The hard thuds followed with a slump of his body and blood flying out of his mouth. Desperate the man threw up his arms to shield his torso and a feeble attempt to deliver a couple punches, which whizzed past my cheeks as I adjusted my body before delivering a devastating right cross, putting all my weight and speed into the blow.

My knuckles right knuckles collided against his cheekbone with a jarring crunch, snapping his head to the side and making his body lurch backwards. Instead of breaking the punch and losing momentum, however, I went with the motion - still channeling chakra to my limbs - and twisted around to deliver a spinning roundhouse kick on the man's ribcage sending him flying limp through the air and loudly crashing through the wall of this room and the one across the hallway. Shards of wood flew through the air as they shattered with mighty groans and cracks, while the nin hurtled through with a caved-in chest, blood flowing from his broken face.

Suddenly three different images of the missing nin using fire and wind jutsu popped in my head, making me groan in frustration. Of course the shadow clones would be dispelled, all it required to dispell was a medium powered blow to dispel. Biting my thumb, I placed my hand on the ground and pumped chakra through the summoning seal. Out from the seal, two giant humanoid crows appeared flanking me, both about seven feet tall with large wings and holding an odachi. The Karasu Tengu that I rarely summoned due to the vast amount of chakra that I previously needed to use (about half). Now I would be able to use them much more often.

"Long time, no see Itachi," the leaner tengu on my right cawed, a violent gleam in its eyes.

"We were beginning to think that you didn't want us around anymore, despite befriending us and all," the bulkier one said, kindly. The pair called themselves Kuro and Shiro because of their different colored gi.

"Well, I didn't really have an occasion to use you. I mean you would've butchered my opponents easily and I'd have wasted my chakra. But, since the occassion calls for butchering, well, go ahead and be guest. Slaughter the three remaining exiled nin and any guards around. In the meantime, I need to finish my assassination mission," I replied with a wily grin. I knew how much they hated attacking good people, so the fact that they could kill some criminals for a change would definitely make them more inclined to fight.

"Well, well, Itachi-san, you finally left Akatsuki. We approve," they said in unison, a happy gleam in their eyes before disappearing in a blur. A few moments later and three blood-chilling screams echoed throughout the mansion. It seemed that these ninja really weren't expecting to be attacked without warning like this. They totally had grown lazy.

Obscene phrases mixed with orders came shouting from out the window along with the loud clacking of a dozen sandals on stone. Without a moment to lose, I rushed out the window and peered into the courtyard. A dozen more thugs carrying swords and bows stood in a circle around a cart where the large target stood shouting at his servants to finish hooking up the oxen to it. 'This is going to be so easy,' I thought as I waited for the servants to finish their job, crouching on the rail of balcony. As the last servant finished the job, I made a flurry of handseals for the Fire Dragon Bullet and added the connected fists before shouting, "Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Roar".

With a roaring exhale, a highly pressurized stream of vermilion-white flames blasted at blinding speeds towards the guards, the target, and the cart before suddenly erupting into a huge fireball, incinerating everything in a blazing flash and concussive blast that roared in a similar way as a dragon. The concussive force sent debris and shrapnel flying everywhere, while a wave of hot air blasted into me with such force that it almost knocked me of my perch. All that remained in the center of the courtyard was a gaping maw of a crater ten meters wide and five deep, filled with ash and rubble.

"Damn, Itachi-san! That was quite the impressive jutsu you got there. How did you learn it?" Shiro asked with an amazed look on his face, his odachi covered in blood, clearly there were still some guards and nin that had needed to have been taken care of.

"Hn, I modified that jutsu myself to maximize the destructive potential of the Great Fireball and Fire Dragon Projectile jutsu, meshing aspects together to make the attack virtually impossible to dodge or react to. I finished a year and a half ago," I explained, grinning from their approval and the fact that I accomplished the mission in record time without breaking a sweat. To me, assassination missions were the easiest considering all the genjutsu and ninjutsu I had at my disposal.

With one last look around, I released the summons for the two karasu tengu I had summoned and prepared to shunshin to Konoha.

"Heh heh heheheh hahahahah," a deep voice cackled choppily, speeding up, each laugh something petrifyingly sinister.

"Who's there?" I asked, whirling around and tossing a half-dozen senbon at the origin of the voice. A splash followed shortly. 'Crap! NO NO NO! Kami, it _cannot_ be him,' I thought as I raced through the possibilities, but always landing on the same conclusion. Sure I could take the mission, but somehow I doubted I would be able to last against my former 'acquaintance', if you could even call him that.

"Leader-sama has been looking for you, Itachi-san," the same low guttural voice continued. "You see, not only did you betray him, but you've been conspiring with the and helping the enemy. You completely ignored your orders." The tall figure finally revealed himself, his blue-gray face plastered with a shark-toothed smirk, his bandaged sword on his back.

Something about seeing the shark-human hybrid wearing the all too familiar black robe with crimson clouds set me off, shifting some gear. "SHUT UP, KISAME! You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of, so unless you want to die leave me and Konohagakure alone!" I roared, my voice dropping an octave. Power thrummed in the air, an angry dense aura of chakra pulsating and growing.

"On the contrary, Itachi-san, I know _everything_. You didn't massacre the Uchiha clan, you have an increasing blindness from your mangekyo, and you have an illness that saps your chakra and strength. All in all, I think I could take the former ANBU Captain. After all, you've passed your prime," Kisame coolly countered, his pointed teeth flashing in the moonlight.

That was the last straw. I couldn't contain the rage and hatred I felt for him and the organization he represented, nor the somewhat true insults. " _That is it, baka! Bring it. You'll see just how much I've changed and how_ past my prime _I really am,_ " I spat murderously, an even more powerful shift in vision occurring. Without a second thought, I summoned the heirloom katana in my right hand and a similar wakizashi in my left. Channeling a small steady stream of chakra through the blades caused a chakra blade twice as large in all dimensions to cover the blade while erupting in white hot flame.

"HUH?! What the...How is that even possible?" Kisame muttered in awe and a hint of fear or doubt.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:**

 **Hey everybody! So this is the fifteenth chapter. Just as a warning it contain more graphic violence than previously and in this chapter there will be a *spoiler alert* reference to the real story behind Naruto's sharingan. Also, the pace may quicken now. Oh, and I don't plan to stop writing this story anytime soon, just so you know. Thanx for all your support and please feel free to review or PM me with any input or questions you might have. I promise Ayame will show up in this chapter and the rest much more frequently. Don't be surprised if she is kick-ass with tai-, ken-, and shuriken- jutsu, though. If it seems that I made Naruto OP that wasn't very intentional.**

 **Oh, and before I forget, I don't own the Naruto franchise (very unfortunately). Thanx so much for everything and your continued support. Now on with the** **show!**

Previously in Chapter 14

 _"Who's there?" I asked, whirling around and tossing a half-dozen senbon at the origin of the voice. A splash followed shortly. 'Crap! NO NO NO! Kami, it cannot be him,' I thought as I raced through the possibilities, but always landing on the same conclusion. Sure I could take the mission, but somehow I doubted I would be able to last against my former 'acquaintance', if you could even call him that._

 _"Leader-sama has been looking for you, Itachi-san," the same low guttural voice continued. "You see, not only did you betray him, but you've been conspiring with the and helping the enemy. You completely ignored your orders." The tall figure finally revealed himself, his blue-gray face plastered with a shark-toothed smirk, his bandaged sword on his back._

 _Something about seeing the shark-human hybrid wearing the all too familiar black robe with crimson clouds set me off, shifting some gear. "SHUT UP, KISAME! You have no idea who I am or what I am capable of, so unless you want to die leave me and Konohagakure alone!" I roared, my voice dropping an octave. Power thrummed in the air, an angry dense aura of chakra pulsating and growing._

 _"On the contrary, Itachi-san, I know everything. You didn't massacre the Uchiha clan, you have an increasing blindness from your mangekyo, and you have an illness that saps your chakra and strength. All in all, I think I could take the former ANBU Captain. After all, you've passed your prime," Kisame coolly countered, his pointed teeth flashing in the moonlight._

 _That was the last straw. I couldn't contain the rage and hatred I felt for him and the organization he represented, nor the somewhat true insults. "That is it, baka! Bring it. You'll see just how much I've changed and how past my prime I really am," I spat murderously, an even more powerful shift in vision occurring. Without a second thought, I summoned the heirloom katana in my right hand and a similar wakizashi in my left. Channeling a small steady stream of chakra through the blades caused a chakra blade twice as large in all dimensions to cover the blade while erupting in white hot flame._

 _"HUH?! What the...How is that even possible?" Kisame muttered in awe and a hint of fear or doubt._

Chapter 15

Itachi's POV

"DIE!" I roared, shooting forward, closing the fifteen meter gap in a fraction of a second katana and wakizashi whirling in a deadly white blaze, the intense heat causing my arms to sweat. Slashing at Kisame, the Akatsuki member barely had time to replace himself as the blades sliced cleanly through a log as it combusted in a ball of flame.

"Shit! Screw you, Itachi, you managed to ruin my cloak and burn my chest," Kisame commented, disdain dripping from his voice before reaching for Samheda. However, the sharkman failed to notice one important aspect. He released a loud grunt as his feet lifted off the air and his arms froze, flying three meters before tumbling on the ground.

"Always keep your eyes on the target, Kisame, you seem to be forgetting since I left," I replied with a cruel sneer, a sadistic glee burning within me at having snuck up and delivered a roundhouse kick on the S-ranked nin.

Crawling back to a standing position, the shark nin hissed and drew the bandaged sword on his back. Most opponents would be intimidated by the large infamous blade and those who knew the reputation of this blade would've fled in fear. About as long Kisame's body Samheda was a fearsome weapon, especially with the bandages removed. The palpable hatred and murderous intent in the air heralded that neither of us would escape unscathed. All of these attributes may have at once given me pause, but now, I couldn't have cared less.

"That legendary sword you stole Kisame will do you no good, especially against me," I said with a psychotic grin, changing the grip on my swords. Although it can absorb chakra, the heat radiating from the fusion of the wind and fire chakra cloaks seemed to be normal and ergo be able to harm Samheda itself without even touching it. I had the upper hand without needing to rely on any formal jutsu, such was the confidence in my abilities. More importantly, the special explosive seals I had created could actually harm Samheda and therefore cripple Kisame, though I would keep these five new seals up my sleeve.

"Rrrgh!" Kisame growled, launching himself towards me at great speed, sweeping the odachi in a slash to the midsection. Unfortunately, the brute had seemed to have forgotten something very important.

I leaped in to the air calmly, twisting over Kisame's body so I faced his back,having already predicted his attack. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" I said, rendering the missing nin paralyzed before I pierced his torso with the wakizashi, creating an eruption of steam and violent sizzling noises as the clone dispersed into a puddle of water. Not surprised at all, I knew that Kisame had switched with a water clone just before rushing me. The faintest shuffle of sandals signaled my opponent's movement to which I responded by whipping my arm and releasing a seal that sent two dozen shuriken flying.

The deep, sharp intake of breath confirmed my instincts, "Damn you, Itachi! You made me bleed!" The boisterous sharkman's eyes gleamed a void black, utterly shaking with rage. In fact, his body exposed twin crimson gashes on his neck and a shuriken embedded in his leg. After all, in terms of speed, he was one of the slowest in Akatsuki while I remained the fastest.

"Hey, Sharkboy! You said you wanted to fight, so when are we starting, because while I am enjoying this game I have a mission to report," I jeered, goading his rage. It would make him even more sloppy and lead him to try to go on the offensive.

Immediately, Kisame began making handseals, which I immediately copied, predicting the next via the movements of his ligaments. A half-second before Kisame could complete the jutsu, I shouted "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" A large shark concocted of sea green water flew towards Kisame just as he completed the jutsu, shaken by the control and new-found visibility I had. While he also managed to activate the jutsu before my attack reached him, his shark was smaller and was overpowered, sending a strong current of water at Kisame, drenching his cloak and shoving him back.

"Surprised? Well I suggest you up your game," I retorted, waiting for his next move. The tensing of his legs as he prepared to rush forward gave me all the warning I needed. 'Demonic Illusion: Mirage Crow' I thought, releasing the genjutsu to the blue bodied ninja hurtling towards me. Instantly, he stopped in his tracks as fear sprung on the shark nin's face for a few moments before realizing the technique for what it was.

That hesitation, though, was all I needed. Kisame's bandaged blade plowed into its target, absorbing the torrent of water chakra that erupted out. However, the blade couldn't stop the momentum from the explosion sending Kisame careening to the side off balance.

Blazing blades in hand, I attacked Kisame or rather Samheda, the heat lighting the bandages ablaze so that they singed and burned Kisame's arms and hands, sending pain coursing through his body. Not only that, but with every block of my relentless slashes and stabs, Samheda visibly cringed, it's scales lacerated and melted by the wind-flame chakra blade despite continously devouring it.

"WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO SAMHEDA!"

I chuckled sardonically. "Careful Kisame, your stupidity is showing. Thing is, these blades multiply and transform chakra. Also, the combination of the natures creates such intense heat, it can turn sand into glass, except for the user that is," I revealed, doubling up my assault. Whirling in a fluid motion, I stabbed at the Ataksuki's stomach with the katana, following with a downward cut to the neck, a spinning attack, and an X shaped cut. While none of the attacks were actually able to slip past Kisame's guard, they pressed him back relentlessly and kept on striking similar points on Samheda, damaging it more than the chakra it received could regenerate it. In essence, if things kept going this way, I way eventually break a third of the legendary sword.

'However, I don't have that kind of time, it's taking longer than I would like considering I only made a six inch long by three inch wide by one inch deep gash in Samheda. Time to switch things up,' I thought with a grimace and a devestating six set combo before retreating with a double backflip.

Kisame, however, rather than take the moment to pause, he quickly lunged towards me after creating to clones and charging in a zigzagging fashion quickly enough so that I lost track of the actual target. All three made a handseal underneath their cloaks, as evidenced by the massive chakra build up before shouting, "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Immediately, three massive sets of giant waves spewed forth from their mouths propelling themselves towards me in a blink of an eye while I could do nothing as the titanic volume of water swept me off my feet and battered me as the first crest crashed down on my body. The whole walled courtyard had been filled in waist deep water and five more sets of giant waves.

In other words, I needed to buy time. Unfortunately, the first Kisame launched himself at me as the wave he stood on came crashing down. Leaping back, I barely avoided being caught in wave, though a couple of Samheda's scales ripped into my chest, sending searing flashes of pain. Warm blood trickled down and soaked my own cloak and vest, which thankfully gave enough protection to stop the brunt of the attack. I barely landed on my feet, although I kept the still blazing swords on hand, noticing that the first Kisame was gone.

'Definitely a water clone,' I thought, turning my attention to the third wave that was about to crash on top of me. Gritting my teeth at having to show another I picked up, I channeled wind chakra along my blades and released it while slashing, saying "Beast Tearing Palm!". A large crescent of wind chakra rocketed towards the crashing wave, smashing into it with such force, the wave simply collapsed on itself, while a second crescent of air collided with the wave the second Kisame rode on, causing it to collapse as well.

Rather than simply falling, he launched himself at me, enhancing the jump with chakra. In such a way, the half-shark closed the distance just as I put my gaurd up and smashed Samheda against the crossed katana and wakizashi. Samheda shrieked in what resembled pain as the blades burned and dug deeper into it, though it didn't falter. In fact, the force sent me skidding back, the waist deep water unbalancing me.

"Heheh, looks like you have definitely grown much more powerful than before, considering how well you can see and the jutsu you've been using without breaking a sweat," Kisame said, a confidence crossing over his face. "But now, you're finished." With that the sharkman quickly began to make a series of handseals,

Unfortunately for him, I had another jutsu already prepared. 'Now!' I thought, sending a mental command to the two hidden clones. Just as a giant dragon of water spiraled up from the mini ocean, a hail of wind projectiles machine-gunned at the occupied Kisame, who had barely enough time to kawarimi. However, the clones just shifted the focus of the jutsus to where Kisame was, causing him to be knocked back by the vacuum spheres, some puncturing the man's arms and legs, though he was still able to absorb most of them with Samheda.

Fortunately, the swirling water dragon rushed him from behind so quick that he didn't have time to move a finger, plowing into him and erupting in a ioent high-pressurized current so that he smashed into the walls of the mansion. While I watched, however, I had completely forgotten about the second clone, which I remembered as a high-pressure bullet of water crushed into my back sending me skidding along the water and over the walls of the courtyard.

I groaned in pain while gasping for the air that had left my body. 'Damn Kisame. While I am sure he'd be knocked out for awhile, making it easy to slit his throat, I'd rather not face Zetsu at the moment, who surely has been watching us,' I thought with disdain, knowing that now more than ever I needed to keep my guard up. Also, I'd have to explain this Kakashi and Tsunade. Another big headache, yay!

Regretting going out on the mission sua sponte, I shunshined back to the Hokage tower in a flutter of crows, appearing just outside the door. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I pushed open the large wooden door to Tsunade's office, ready to report despite the fact that I still had a few bleeding gashes on my body. However, I would never have been prepared for what came afterwards.

* * *

Naruto POV

Three minutes prior

"Hey, Grandma!" I said with a cheerful smile. The Fifth Hokage just grumbled as usual about how not to call her that and the usual having to dodge something she threw at me. However, what caught my attention was that Ayame and Ino were here. "Oh, hey guys, didn't know that you were called here, too," I said locking eyes with a slightly tipsy looking Ino, though it may just've been my imagination.

"Oh, hey Naru-kun," Ino cooed, fluttering her eyelashes and tilting her head in such a way that it made me blush. "Honestly, Tsunade didn't say anything about you or Ayame being here either. Though honestly, it is way to early in the morning for a chat," the platinum blonde added, punctuating her point with a yawn.

"Same here. Honestly, not being a kunoichi and all, I am kinda surprised when I got the message," Ayame replied, a troubled look on her face that only meant she had been contemplating something that didn't seem good. With that, I walked over to the couch and plopped down on it, still worn out from the wounds I got fighting Anko and doing Itachi's crazy training.

"Alright, now that you are all here and settled down, I have three things I must discuss with you: Firstly..." Before Tsunade could begin, however, the swung open with a bang that echoed in the office.

"I'm back from the mission, Hokage-sama," Itachi's smooth baritone voice announced just as all our heads snapped to his bowing figure, rendered utterly speechless. "The target and his retinue are eliminated, but there is an urgent matter I must..." Itachi cut himself short as soon as he saw us, Sharingan still activated and the blonde hair dye completely gone.

"Hell yeah! You're finally out of the hospital, Itachi-niisan!" I shouted, high-fiving him. In all honesty, I was happy that the Uchiha who I came to consider as my older brother seemed to be alright except for a few scratches and bruises. "I need to show you the new jutsu I created!"

Itachi chuckled, giving me a small smile, his eyes saying that he was happy to see me. "Heh, I can only imagine how strong it is, Naruto," Itachi's voice said, fondly, before he absentmindedly tosseled my long blonde hair. The withdrawn person he was seemed to have almost disappeared, along with the usual Uchiha mannerisms.

"Itachi-kun, where in the hell where you?!" Ayame exclaimed, seemingly angry and surprised at the same time. "More importantly, why didn't you tell me you were going on a mission and had left the hospital!" She had trudged over to Itachi, lightning flashing in her eyes. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, however, Itachi interrupted her with a kiss, which Ayame melted into. It was a little too sweet for my taste, making nauseate, whereas Ino's look on her face had 'That's so adorable' written all over it.

When they pulled back slowly, both still had there eyes closed. Expecting to here something sweet, I made ready to barf in the trash can. If they did something like the cliche romance tv show, it would be too much for me to handle. Itachi and Ayame leaned closer to each other, the latter with a slight blush as if to say something. A slight jerk, and Ayame's fist suddenly plowed into the Uchiha's gut, causing him to double over in pain and gasp for breath.

"YOU DO NOT TRY TO SHUT ME UP WHEN I AM TALKING TO YOU!" Ayame roared at the crumpled Uchiha. The scene caused Ino and Tsunade to sweatdrop while wincing. However, I fell on the floor laughing so hard at the sudden change of events, especially the way that the S-ranked nin gasped for breath like a fish, rendered immobilized by his own non-shinobi girlfriend in one punch.

"S-sorry, Ayame-hime, it's just well, I was going crazy inside the hospital and had to escape Kakashi and Anko. I went to a bar so they wouldn't find me, but then I got chased all the way here by a bunch of drunk teenage kunoichi. In order to escape I asked Tsunade for a B-rank mission, since I felt fine," Itachi sputtered, summarizing the reasons why he didn't tell her, slowly standing back up, a pleading gaze directed at the miffed brunette across from him.

I was still on the floor chuckling at Itachi's misery when he shot me a murderous glare flashing his mangekyo on and off so quickly I thought I'd imagined it, but the threat was clear: he'd straighten my traitorous ass out. 'Damn it' I gulped, suddenly scared enough to stop laughing.

"Um, guys, I hate to interrupt but can't this wait for later," Ino interjected before the squabble could go on. "I think Itachi needed to tell Tsunade something important about the mission." The soothing and confident voice Ino used, immediately stopped the married-couple-esque argument immediately.

Itachi quickly recovered and faced an incredulous Tsunade, "Yes, well, as I was saying, the mission itself wasn't difficult at all. Unfortunately, however, soon after I completed the mission, an operative of Akatsuki ambushed me at the mansion: Kisame Hoshigaki."

"Wait, isn't that the shark-face dude that came after me that one time while I was training with Jiraiya?" I asked, incredulous that that monster had tried to kill someone as powerful as Itachi, especially now that the operation was completed.

"Well, yes, that would be him," Itachi replied, still facing Tsunade, who's eyebrows crossed in concentration, "He told me something that basically meant, he and Akatsuki had been keeping tabs on me and Naruto. Apparently they bought my cover story so only recently realized that I turned on them a couple years back. With that said, I need to know the whole truth behind Naruto's sharingan, so don't you _dare_ give me some bullshit, Tsunade!" Itachi replied, quickly losing his composure, the cool face he always wore shattering completely.

I stood utterly speechless, my jaw dropping at what I had just learn. Ino and Ayame mirrored my response, though the latter woman considerably less surprised. When Tsunade seemed to ponder the challenge and information seriously, the accusation seemed to really sink in.

The blonde Hokage got up slowly behind her desk, head down. "Well, the first part is definitely news. This means that we definitely need you four to officially become a black-ops team so that you'll be around ANBU for added protection. As for the second part, Itachi, I'll tell you the truth, though it would be better if Naruto and Ino left."

I slowly backed up, shaking my head already not believing that I had been lied to by Itachi, Tsunade, and Kakashi about two very important things. Quickly steeling myself, however, calming down enough to realize there were very good reasons for Itachi to not tell me what group he had been with before. Also, there was no way I wasn't going to know how I got my sharingan.

"No, I think all of us should hear what you have to say, Hokage-sama," I said with a cool-edge, a steel defiance welling up. "After all, Itachi, Ino, Ayame, and I are a team."

Itachi turned around and sent me a quizzical look before giving a grim smile of understanding.

Tsunade just exhaled and massaged her temples, exasperation written all over her face. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you all. So, Naruto's father, the Fourth Hokage, was a descendant of that certain Uchiha who married a Senju. However, both of the Uchiha and Senju were expelled from their clans and worse yet, neither their children nor grandchildren had any of the kekkei genkai beyond an ability to quickly decipher jutsus, quick reflexes, immense creativity, and higher tier intelligence.

"So, considering this, both Minato and Naruto had the ability to manifest sharingan, but it lay dormant in their blood, repressed by some gene or chakra. After the fight Naruto had with Sasuke, Kakashi wasn't able to find him, only a trail that had been mostly covered. It took three weeks to find where Naruto had been taken. Kakashi, Anko, and two Anbu found him in one of Orochimaru's secret lairs, suspended in a vat of chemicals barely breathing. That's when they saw the sharingan in Naruto's right socket. Somehow, Orochimaru was able to crack the code to whatever was suppressing the kekki genkai, though only on one eye."

* * *

Itachi's POV

"Hm, interesting...Well, it seems Orochimaru isn't all that bad, right?" I joked, causing Naruto, Ino, and Ayame to smirk. "In any case, that also means that you and I, little bro, are actually related. Which brings me to this point...How about we trade sharingan, Naruto-niisan?" I asked, just to gauge his reaction. The creeped-out and happy expression that Naruto made was so fucking hilarious.

"I know what you are thinking, Itachi, and I would agree once Naruto knows what he can do with the mangekyo sharingan. And that is final!" Tsunade snapped, killing all protest before it could began. Handing me my pay, she told us she expected us to be ready in a week to take an A-rank mission, which instantly made Naruto start salivating at the thought of getting paid a million ryo.

While I knew that Tsunade was just trying to protect Naruto and help him, she didn't seem to understand just how much Ino and Naruto had changed and improved. And that stung. "Hokage-sama, if I may, I would like to enroll Ino and Naruto in the Jonin exams. While I don't quite believe that they are ready to become Jonin, they should be tokebetsu," I told the Hokage just as Naruto and Ino began to leave, causing them to freeze, giddy smiles on their faces.

"Not that I doubt you're teaching ability, but I won't be able to do such a thing. The mission itself is a test of sorts that will prove whether your three students are worthy of the chuunin rank, which already was controversial enough for the council. That and your promotion to Jonin leaves me unable to pull anymore strings for awhile," Tsunade replied, making a sour face at the mention of the council.

Bowing my head, I realized my foolishness for thinking that Tsunade didn't trust me. No, it was surely Danzo Shimura's doing, a person whom a wished to kill. "Got it. Thank you for hearing me out." With that, I walked out the door with Ayame, Naruto and Ino in tow.

First thing I thought of was a rigorous training plan the day after tomorrow to get us back in cohesion.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:**

 **Hey everybody! So this is the sixteenth chapter. How'd you like Naruto's sharingan story! This is really where things start to piece together. Also, this chapter will feature more romance between Ino and Naruto and Ayame and Itachi, which may or may not involve a certain dango-loving sadist. Thanx for all your support and please feel free to review or PM me with any input or questions you might have. Ayame will show up in this chapter and not only as a passing mention here and there. Don't be surprised if she is kick-ass with tai-, ken-, and shuriken- jutsu, though. Itachi's insane power is very intentional, after all if Itachi could be kick-ass with average chakra reserves, let's just say that he won't die nearly as easily as he did.**

 **Oh, and before I forget, I don't own the Naruto franchise, particularly Itachi, Ino, Naruto, and Ayame (very unfortunately). Thanx so much for everything and your continued support. Now on with the** **show!**

Previously in Chapter 15

Itachi POV

 _"Hm, interesting...Well, it seems Orochimaru isn't all that bad, right?" I joked, causing Naruto, Ino, and Ayame to smirk. "In any case, that also means that you and I, little bro, are actually related. Which brings me to this point...How about we trade sharingan, Naruto-niisan?" I asked, just to gauge his reaction. The creeped-out and happy expression that Naruto made was so fucking hilarious._

 _"I know what you are thinking, Itachi, and I would agree once Naruto knows what he can do with the mangekyo sharingan. And that is final!" Tsunade snapped, killing all protest before it could began. Handing me my pay, she told us she expected us to be ready in a week to take an A-rank mission, which instantly made Naruto start salivating at the thought of getting paid a million ryo._

 _While I knew that Tsunade was just trying to protect Naruto and help him, she didn't seem to understand just how much Ino and Naruto had changed and improved. And that stung. "Hokage-sama, if I may, I would like to enroll Ino and Naruto in the Jonin exams. While I don't quite believe that they are ready to become Jonin, they should be tokebetsu," I told the Hokage just as Naruto and Ino began to leave, causing them to freeze, giddy smiles on their faces._

 _"Not that I doubt you're teaching ability, but I won't be able to do such a thing. The mission itself is a test of sorts that will prove whether your three students are worthy of the chuunin rank, which already was controversial enough for the council. That and your promotion to Jonin leaves me unable to pull anymore strings for awhile," Tsunade replied, making a sour face at the mention of the council._

 _Bowing my head, I realized my foolishness for thinking that Tsunade didn't trust me. No, it was surely Danzo Shimura's doing, a person whom a wished to kill. "Got it. Thank you for hearing me out." With that, I walked out the door with Ayame, Naruto and Ino in tow._

 _First thing I thought of was a rigorous training plan the day after tomorrow to get us back in cohesion._

* * *

Chapter 16

Itachi POV

Itachi's (temporary) residence three days later

"Ahhhh" I sighed, feeling the tension in my back and arm muscles dissipate as hot water rained down from the shower head. Suds of shampoo and bodywash mixed with the accumulated sweat and dirt curled around the drain of the large, walk-in shower that could easily fit three people. "That felt great" I murmured happily, turning off the shower and grabbing a warm white towel to dry myself off.

"Who knew I could buy prime property and still have a lot of money to spare," I continued talking to myself, giving my reflection a sly wink upon inspection of my body. Every muscle from the pectoral to the abdominal to the calve were toned and chiseled to just the right proportions, no doubt slightly increased from the past three days of intense training.

The regimen I came up with for myself, Ayame, Ino, and Naruto definitely helped develop a natural team and way going about things. Naruto would be the offensive tank with his great resilience and close to mid range jutsu, keeping enemies busy with his shadow clones. Ayame would help scout, snipe with her recurve composite bow and shuriken, and take out weaker targets stealthily with kenjutsu. Ino would be the sensor and general support unit, while using long range and defensive jutsu as her secondary role. I would mainly be the jutsu specialist and cannon-hunter, taking out the strongest enemies with my superior skill and experience.

Moreover, I refined one of Ino's ultimate techniques that allowed her to control a strong-willed target and make them to commit suicide. With Naruto, I helped him gain more control of his rasengan and evolved the fire release variant into an actual jutsu that caused the rasengan to burrow into the target before detonating in a blast of condensed flame. This training allowed me to actually refine the drill attack I used on naruto into a wind and flame variant of the chidori, the combined elements trumping the power of chidori. Ayame learned how to make different tags using chakra pills to enhance the capabilities of her arrows and kunai, working around some assumed rules of fuinjutsu that turned out not to be universal.

"Ayame's explosive arrow attacks are absolutely breathtaking, especially when the shockwave kicks up her caramel locks of hair making her seem a beautiful goddess of destruction," I thought.

"Well, I'm glad you think so Itachi-kun," Ayame replied huskily.

My first thought was that her voice made her all the more appealing in the crimson, strapless dress thaat reached mid-thigh, while her hair cascaded in waves. My second thought was how in the hell did I get in the living room only a towel around my waist, hair damp and skin dry. Immediately, a blush burned across my face, "I-uh...umm...I-I am so s-sorry, Ayame-hime!" I stuttered, before dashing away to get decent.

'Damn it, Itachi, keep it together. She is your girlfriend after all and has seen you shirtless,' my inner-self said.

Well, yeah, but never in just a towel where only us two are around. Moreover, the look that Ayame gave me was more than a little uncomfortable, as if she was removing the towel from my body with her eyes, something which she hadn't really done to me before.

'Come on! You _are_ good looking and you're a couple. Isn't that normal?' the same exasperated voice replied, practically face-palming at the response.

The rapping of knuckles knocking against wood snapped me out of the argument. "Hey, Itachi-kun, can I come in?" Ayame asked, her sweet and shy voice unbearably cute.

"Just a sec," I replied, putting on a pair boxers and soft sweatpants, draping the towel between my hair and neck and back to keep the skin dry. Plopping down on the queen-sized bed, sitting with my legs crossed, I told she could come in.

As the door swung open, Ayame stood with a small smile and a pink blush on her cheeks. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you or made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you were standing there and..."

I held my hand up and gave Ayame a grin, "No, no, it's alright. I just overreacted, Ayame-hime." The reassured smile and happy glint in her eyes was too much. In a flash, I slipped both arms around her lower back, feeling the smooth silk of the dress, and locked lips with her soft and sweet ones.

"I love you, my princess," I whispered into the kiss, which must've taken Ayame by such surprise as she had only just begun to kiss back. Rather than the passionate and hungry kisses or chaste pecks that we normally engaged in, the kiss was pure tender love

"So do I, baby," Ayame whispered back when we pulled away. Almost immediately a bright blush burned across Ayame's cheeks. "I-I...didn't r-re-realize th-that you were...you know," the brunette stuttered, pointing a nervous finger.

I had to restrain the roaring laughter that threatened to swell up into just an amused chuckle. "Oh, you mean the lack of a shirt? Yeah, my hair is still a little wet," I replied, an amused grin still plastered. That was until a warm finger lightly traced across my abdomen, causing my spine to jolt with...desire?

"Where did you get this scar, Itachi-kun?" Ayame asked, curiosity and worry in her beautiful hazel orbs. They slowly went back to inspecting the other scars on from the past six or seven years, tracing each lightly as if anymore pressure would reopen the wounds, all of which I hadn't told her about. And it almost rendered me to a writhing mess of pleasure. Unfortunately, the lack of mischief or lust in her eyes meant that Ayame was not trying to seduce me.

"Well...the first scar you traced is the newest, from Kisame's sword Samheda, actually. The second scar is a cut I got from a member of Akatsuki called Hidan from his reaper scythe, which only just pierced the muscle. The third was from one of Naruto's wind chakra blades. The last half dozen were from various S-ranked nin that I ended up killing," I listed, trying hard not to give into the pleasure and practically jump Ayame there and then.

When Ayame looked back up into my eyes and raised a curious, incredulous eyebrow. "Why exactly are you looking at me like..." the young woman began, before she blinked then smirked slowly. "Hahaha! I can't believe it that that actually aroused you!" She sprawled across the bed in a giggling fit, revealing more of her toned, lightly tan legs, which didn't help me at all.

Not really ashamed, I kept silent, essentially affirming her statement. "Well, that means it totally worked, then," Ayame continued, her giggling suddenly turning back to that honeyed, sensual voice.

"W-wait, you were trying to _seduce_ me," I barely managed in my shocked and aroused state, blood rushing to my manhood.

"Of course I was," Ayame said with a sensual grin, crawling slowly across the bed. "Though I admit I didn't really expect two things: one, that Anko was right; second, that you were also in love with Anko." Despite the implications of what she said, Ayame was still sensually smiling, not the least turned off.

That only flustered me even more. Hands raised, I practically shot back up into a sitting position. "Wait, wait. So you're fine if Anko and I are also together?" I asked, completely incredulous, thinking it some kind of sick joke that she had sprung on me to break up.

"Yeah, pretty much. After all, she is cool, nice, pretty, and strong and loves you as well. Moreover, she's known you for awhile and had a crush on you. Also, I was thinking that since you're the last of your clan, you'll be forced to have multiple wives to recreate it, so might as well have people you like," Ayame continued, having stopped in front of me, before her lips crashed hungrily against mine.

If I had any less core strength, I would have fallen over. Instead, I almost immediately rebounded by kissing back and slipping my tongue into her mouth, pushing her over and letting my animal instincts take over. Battling for dominance with our tongues, our lust escalating the actions to groping and teasing to finally making love for the first time.

* * *

Naruto POV

Day of the mission

"Hey, Ino, do you have any idea why Ayame and Itachi are always late?" I asked my platinum blonde teammate, aggravated that Itachi and Ayame were late for like the fifth time in four days, especially today since it was time for our first big mission.

Ino smirked and chuckled a little. "Come on, Naruto! What happened to that pervy mind of yours?" When I just looked confused, Ino pulled my face so close to hers that I felt the Yamanka's breath. "I'll give you a hint," Ino purred sensual velvet, before locking into a kiss.

Completely shocked by the action, I froze up, enjoying the pleasure from the caress of her warm, sweet lips. Before I could kiss back, however, a shout broke the moment.

"Hey, Naruto and Ino, there are children here!" Iruka-sensei's voice screeched as terrifying as ever, causing both of us to immediately obey our Academy instructor's implicit command.

"Oh, hey, Iruka-sensei, sorry about that," Ino apologized, with a smile, pink tinting her cheeks.

Noticing the line of the third year Academy students in front of me, I brilliant idea crossed my mind. "Hey, Iruka. Do you want to know how close I am to becoming the Hokage?" I asked, a mischievous grin cracking through the happy-go-lucky expression I wore despite my best efforts.

Iruka cocked his head to the side, pondering what I had up my sleeve. "Erm, sure, why not?" the spiky brunette replied, although his body was poised to intervene if I tried to pull something unsavory or perverted.

The stance sourly made me realize just how much I had to go to earn back the trust I lost with the frequent pranks. That thought fueled my determination. Concentrating, I split five chunks of chakra from my large reserves and crossed my fingers. "Shadow Clone Technique!" I shouted, two clones appearing next to me and a group of three a yard away in a puff of smoke.

The students watched in wonder at the solid looking clones, while Iruka made a move to interupt. Before he could say anything, however, one clone in the second group and I channeled chakra into the palm of our hands while the remaining quickly shaped and transformed the spheres of chakra. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Rasengan!" I shouted holding a large blazing rasengan with flames shaped like dragon wings around it. A moment later, the clone shouted "Wind Release: Rasengan!", a high-pitch screeching, translucent rasengan whirled in its hand, four blades protruding from it.

Looking Iruka dead in the eye and spoke with a grin, "I completed the final step of the Fourth Hokage's ultimate jutsu in a few weeks and optimized it." With that, I dispelled the two jutsus that eminated incredible amounts of raw power.

Most of the kids just blinked and stared in utter shock with a few exclaiming how awesome I must be. Iruka-sensei stayed silent for a tense moment before bending back and letting loose a fit of laughter. "Of course you would, Naruto," Iruka replied while laughing, "Only you, the one who somehow always accomplishes the impossible, would've have found the answer!" Calming down from his hysterical fit, a proud grin still etched on his face before turning to address the assembled crowd of students.

"Listen up, class! Meet Naruto Uzumaki: he used to be the dobe in his class, yet he was instrumental in the completion of his first dangerous mission (an A-rank), defeated a Hyuuga prodigy and a jinchhuriki single-handedly, and now mastered a jutsu that even our most powerful Hokage -the Fourth- couldn't. All this he accomplished through sheer determination, teamwork, belief in his comrades, compassion, and more training than one would deem healthy. I suggest you all, regardless of your kekki genkai, clan, or prejudices, use him as a role model," Iruka orated, pride and sincerity in every word of his.

All I could do was blush, stunned both by the showering of praise and by the belief that Iruka had in me. Ino's hand caressed my shoulder as if to confirm Iruka's words.

"Hey, you forgot to mention a combination of great friends and teachers," Itachi's voice added, having appeared next to me with Ayame at his side.

"Ha ha ha ha, that to, Karasu-senpai," Iruka replied with mirth, waving a greeting at the disguised Uchiha.

Itachi greeted Iruka in turn, the latter of whom said goodbye and brought his multitude of students to wherever they were supposed to go. The tall, fake-blonde turned to Naruto and Ino, "Next time you two want to complain about people being late make sure to check your surroundings to check that they aren't already there," Itachi commented, before rushing to the Hokage's tower in a blur.

"Good morning to you, too, asshole," Ino and I muttered simultaneously, before greeting Ayame.

"Sorry about that, guys. Itachi-kun is still grumpy because we didn't get to cuddle in bed this morning," Ayame replied with an embarrassed chuckle.

"I never knew he could be such a softy..." Ino murmured, while I just blushed, scarred by the image of the naked couple. With that, we rushed after Itachi to the Hokage's office, ready to receive our mission.

After Tsunade greeted us, she gave us a scroll detailing the mission and told us that the job was to infiltrate a lair in Sound territory that apparently had scrolls of both forgotten and secret jutsu, some of which belonged to different clans in Konoha and the Fire Country. Said scrolls were guarded by a platoon of high level Chunin and mid-level Jonin from Sound. There was also a secondary objective that was to gather intelligence on the whereabouts of other secret hideouts, to which purpose Ino, Ayame, and I remained uncertain, though Itachi gave the subtlest nods of understanding.

With that, we were off on the black-ops infiltration mission, our gear already on us or in storage seals and scrolls that we carried.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: This marks the seventeenth chapter of the story. With that said, expect more mayhem and destruction. By the way, some of the jutsu I made up, for those who haven't noticed, draw from Fairy Tail's own dull-witted yet powerful protagonist, Natsu. Just couldn't resist mixing that in, since I thought it would make for some awesome fire ninjutsu. Oh, and by the way, I don't own any of the characters (except the rare and few I may make up) T-T.**

 **Anyways, thanks for the continued support and all that everyone!**

Chapter 17

A few kilometers into the boarder of Sound

Naruto POV

"So that's the plan, Itachi-sensei? Yeesh, I'd expected something more sneaky and tactical," I commented after the Uchiha told us the plan a couple kilometers away from the hideout.

"Alright little bro, since when did you have an issue with busting in and kicking ass like in action movies?" Itachi retorted, his voice a steel blade.

"Uh, if you hadn't noticed, Itachi-sensei, Naruto's gotten a lot more intelligent since he was under your tutelage," Ino added in my defense, slightly miffed with her hands on her hips.

"Huh, he did? Must've not noticed since I beat every time at shogi within five minutes." Itachi's smug voice almost drove me over the edge, though I knew he was only goading me. Also, with the surgery and everything, there was no way I could take him at all, and he knew it. After a few moments, Itachi gave a small smile and slight nod. "Well, I concede. You, Naruto, _have_ gotten smarter. Normally you would've jumped or challenged me to a fight. But, in any case, they are not going to suspect a full frontal attack. Plus, with our skill and coordination we needn't doubt our ability."

"I agree. Taking them by storm, hitting hard and fast, would let us progress quickly without being caught," Ayame spoke up, for the first time in hours, dainty brows furrowed in concentration. Her whole physique had changed from supper girly to an athletic body that somehow accentuated her curves. Now, one glimpse of her would remind anyone of the saying "Deadly beauty", a trait perfectly personified by Yugao and Anko.

Without further complaint, we shunshined to the treeline hemming in the compound drilled into the rocky hill. "On my single, Ayame, launch your explosive arrows at the door. While she does this, Naruto, make twenty one clones and I'll make seven. That way, we can attack them in groups of four. Ino...you know what to do," Itachi muttered, an icy focus shining his eyes.

All of us nodded, instantly shifting to our cold killer mindsets that Itachi ingrained in us. The one rule we followed: we return the favor a hundred fold to anyone who tries to hurt our village or our friends. With that, I focused on churning a huge chunk of chakra and splitting it into twenty parts. Ayame fingered her bowstring, the active camouflage cloak already on making her hard to spot even if I knew the ex assistant ramen chef was there. Ino grasped her tanto in one hand, the other ready to activate her clan jutsu.

A raven cawed twice from above and a triad of arrows impaled themselves in the gate. "Shadow Clone Jutsu" Itachi and I **muttered,** our clones appearing in the designated groups already. The arrows erupted in large explosions, pulverizing the gate and part of the hill along with it. Before the dust and smoke could clear, the clones jumped into action, sharingan activated, allowing them to pierce the screen and locate the enemy. Immediately, volleys of shuriken and kunai showered in through the compounds main entrance, the gurggling screams and piercing cries signifying the neutralization of the first guards.

 _"There are two standard squads coming through the central hallway and one more coming in from each side,"_ Ino's voice warned from inside my head. Tactical and medical support were her specialties but if anyone tried something, she could hold her own in a fight using genjutsu and ninjutsu.

 _"Thanks, Ino-chan. Love you,"_ I replied through the telepathy link, smiling before relaying the message to the clones, following Itachi's lead. Facing the front corridor with a group of clones, I made the tiger and dog seals prepping the combination attack Itachi and I would make. When the glimmer of headbands flashed in the dim corridor and the noise of pattering feet grew, I released the jutsu. "Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!".

A large sphere of compressed air launched towards the approaching group. Roaring flames in the shape of a dragon head followed, engulfing the large of wind sphere so it blazed in white hot flames and bursting the sound barrier with a deafening roar. In the fraction of a second before the attack collided with the targets, I saw six of the eight chunin launch themselves back, avoiding death. Erupting flames and a shrieking boom followed, leaving a large crater that tore up the corridor and left six of the ninja alive with varying degrees of injuries, all prone.

The four clones launched a hail of shuriken at the shinobi while dashing forward in line with Itachi and I. The dozen shuriken offed three more chunin, the remaining using the kawarimi, recovering from their surprise. The three sound ninja launched kunai at the clones, taking advantage of the space that hemmed them in and destroying each one. However, the stunt they pulled allowed me to reach the strongest looking chunin, his face masked by bandages and the signature holed bracers that I had seen used on Kabuto.

"Rasengan!" I shouted, as I quickly formed a spiraling sphere of chakra in my hand, while flipping over the right-cross that the chunin threw at me. Before the shinobi could turn around, I plunged it into his charred back, ripping into him and exploding in a large cloud of the darkest crimson. The man, no more than twenty-five years old, lay stuck in the wall with his lifeless body and innards mangled.

Ignoring the urge to throw up, I whirled around to face my next opponent, just barely witnessing Itachi's beheading of the chunin with a wind-enhanced chop. The last chunin dropped to his knees wide-eyed in horror and fright, face utterly pale and looking my age. To my surprise -and relief- Itachi didn't immediately kill the boy.

"Where are the jutsu scrolls hidden?" Itachi rumbled icily, sounding and appearing to be a god of death with his blood stained void-black cloak and blood-red eyes.

"I...uh...d-don'treallyknow," the teenager squeaked (yes, squeaked) "B-but I have a map of the compound!"

Itachi's mouth turned into a smirk, probably because he would now get more new info than we had. Taking the map from the shaking boy's hand, Itachi rendered him unconscious with the sharingan: genjutsu, stifling the boy's scream with his hand.

 _"All the teams are neutralized. Ayame and I are moving_ _in,"_ Ino said using her telepathy and leaving it open for a response.

 _"Looks like no alarms have been alerted. There must be sound proof walls in place that would prevent noise. Also, we found a_ _map,"_ Itachi replied, already scanning the labeled map.

 _"Looks like we may need to split up, guys. There are two separate vaults. Do you want to team up,_ _Ino?"_ I asked, Itachi already nodding in approval and handing me a copy of the map with the vault Ino and I would take. I gave my 'brother' a grin of determination, elated that he trusted me to have some leadership in a high level mission.

"Be careful, Naruto, alright? There might be some really tough opponents that you need to face," the ravenette said, a noticeable hint of worry in his voice, "You and Ino need to stick and work together, no matter what."

I just waved him off, telling him I was fine and that he should worry about himself and Ayame for a change, refusing to acknowledge that I appreciated outright due to my pride. Backtracking to the entrance, I found Ino and sent my clones to scout ahead and take out patches of resistance, while Ino scanned for potential targets.

Despite that we were on a dangerous mission, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful Ino looked while she was concentrating. A loose lock of platinum blonde hair fell over her glowing lightly tanned face, the rest in a loose ponytail that still managed to create a cascading effect. Somehow noticing the stare, Ino shot a look at me, saying 'Really, Naruto? Now's not the time'.

Rushing silently to the vault, we passed a gruesome scene of charred and slashed shinobi, their blood pooling around them. I searched my memory and found the scene of a battle from six different perspectives, meaning that my clones already lost a third of their strength, a good rate everything considered.

"I would really hate to be your enemy, Naru," Ino winced at the scene before catching up.

While the journey seemed uneventful, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched and followed, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint from where. Moreover, all the clones had been wiped out via chakra exhaustion taking out a higher level team. But the worst part was that despite the fact that the mission stated we'd run into jonin level shinobi, none had appeared yet.

It didn't take much to figure out that something was off. I began to ponder whether they already knew we would come here or if they were making us drop our guard. Before I could stay on the subject, however, my hackles rose with an icy chill. Maybe it was the pungent smell of danger or the muffled rasps of metal or the ozone scent of the air, but something tipped off to an imminent and powerful threat.

"WATCH OUT!" I growled at Ino, the bijuu chakra flaring through my system, and tackled her to the ground. Just in time, too, as a crackling bolt of lightning arced past where Ino had been before.

Under normal circumstances, Ino would have hesitated for a fraction of moment before attacking. This time, however, it was not the case. Almost immediately, Ino made a monkey seal and sprayed quickly expanding rocks from her mouth. The deafening thuds echoed through the corridor as the projectiles tore into and through thick stone walls, leaving massive damage once Ino finished, as well as creating an artificial bottle-neck.

As soon as Ino finished, I summoned a katana and its sheath before getting into Itachi's signature kenjutsu stance, prepared to dart at the enemy. "Heh, heh, looks like you two aren't pushovers at all," an impossibly deep voice chuckled, menacing from volume and pitch. I tensed when I heard the loud footsteps of the aggressor approaching, instinctively channeling turquoise wind chakra through the sword. The way the dust billowed and the voice sounded, I immediately decided the person was a giant hulk of a man.

"However, your skill won't...Wha-what?! I-it can't b-be." The enemy's cocky tone evaporated replaced by momentary fear, its approach stopping short. "Th-that's Konoha's Ye-Yellow F-Flash, Minato Na-Namikaze!" A similar voice finished and as the dust cleared away, I had the oddest surprise of my life.

The first: both of the shinobi were staring and pointing at me, meaning they thought I was my father. The second: neither of the burly Sound-nin were more than four feet tall. Anger bubbled up at this, sending more of the burning tailed-beast chakra through my veins.

"I. AM. NOT. THE YELLOW FLASH!" I snarled at the two, letting loose a bloodcurdling roar. "I COMPLETED HIS ULTIMATE JUTSU AND I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY FATHER'S DREAM!" I continued, angry that these two dared to confuse me with the Yondaime and dared defile my dad's name. Usually, this wouldn't get under my skin, but the vary fact that these two seemed to have been enemies of both him and me, as well as attempting to kill Ino pissed me off.

In a blur, I dashed at the closest midget and slashed at the man's abdomen. The blade only grazed him, however, tearing through the flak jacket and cutting a half-centimeter deep cut across his gut. Not backing down, I slashed at the pale midget, the strikes too fast to completely dodge, sending thin ribbons of blood in the air as I hacked at his legs, arms, and chest.

A spark of lightning registered in my peripheral vision, allowing me to kawirimi just in time as an arc of lightning surged from the second thinner midget's arm. Just before the man could continue, however, he froze in a paralyzed for an instant. Snapping my head back, I saw Ino using her clan signature jutsu although the sweat beading from her forehead meant that she was having difficulty controlling him.

No wasting a moment, I churned flame release chakra and exhaled. "Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Roar!" I shouted, as a thin high pressurized stream of flames rocketed towards the midget #2 before exploding. Unfortunately, I caught a glimpse of the first nin forming a rock barrier in front of his comrade. The only evidence now, though, was the pile of rock rubble and the comparatively few burns on the second midget who flipped up to his feet from his back.

"Very interesting...You must be a test subject of Orochimaru-sama, considering that you have sharingan," the first midget said, "And your skill is highly impressive, which extends to the Yamanaka. My name is Hiro and the man you attempted to incinerate is my twin Kiso." The two middle-aged midgets seemed to look at us with a certain respect, though friendliness was out of the question. More how a villain might recognize the prowess of a hero.

"I am Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, future Hokage and the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune," I replied with a wicked grin before mentally signalling Kurama to release more of his chakra. Another bout of fear lanced through the twins as a cloak of vermilion chakra surrounded me. **I approve of your method's, Naruto. If you pull this mission off while saying who you are, your notoriety and mine will grow, showing to other demons that you are competitive. Look's like you**

Before the twins could react, I launched myself at Kiso, realizing that I could easily obliterate his lightning jutsu with my wind. In a blink I arrived and knocked aside an electrified kunai he used to slash at me. Feeling a wince-inducing shock, I delivered a jab to his face and stomach before taking a right cross to my exposed face. Staggering back I few steps, I managed to dodge a couple more blows, a numbing pain rushing through me. Feigning I high kick, I stomped on the man's chest that barely caused him to stagger back. 'Damn, this is going to be one hell of a fight,' I thought while ducking under a roundhouse kick, which I countered with a spinning leg sweep.

* * *

Itachi's POV

Meanwhile, on the west side of the compound...

"Fire release: Great Fireball Technique!" I shouted, exhaling a stream of flame towards the mysterious nin. Once again, the white clad, hooded figure split the torrent of flames with an outstretched hand. 'How the fuck is he doing that?' I thought, clenching my fist in frustration and casually blocking a volley of kunai with my sword. We had been at a stalemate for quite sometime, since the shinobi seemed to be able to deflect projectiles and all ranged jutsus I used.

However, the figure's repertoire in ninjutsu didn't seem extensive, having used only two different C-rank and two B-rank water jutsu so far, yet I could feel a great sinister power wafting of the ninja in waves. While it didn't rival the menacing tailed-beast chakra, it carried comparable potency.

'I've got to keep Ayame safe and if this will help her, so be it,' I thought, looking behind me at a limping Ayame, sadness welling up in me. While she had helped taken out chunin and such, whomever the white cloaked nin was managed to deflect the full brunt of my Great Breakthrough into her, smashing her against the wall of the cave after the mysterious nin was pierced in the leg by one of her speed-enhanced arrows.

"Wait...that's it!" I murmured in excitement, having figured out the nin's weakness. It was the same weakness of the Uchiha: the sharingan can't help you if you aren't quick enough to counter an attack. The only difference is this person knew about me and didn't have sharingan, or they would've looked at my eyes. 'At least you scared of...Ugh, seriously, I must be slow today if it took this long to come up with a good plan,' I chastised.

"Hmm, looks you finally came up with something, Itachi Uchiha," the cloaked figure said, a gentle feminine lilt to her voice.

I blinked in surprise at the voice. It certainly didn't have any resemblance to the voice of a killer, her voice seemed way too gentle and innocent for that. Then again, Orochimaru had a nasty habit of completely changing what was inside someone without changing their outward appearance. "You know, it's rude not to introduce oneself," I teased with a sly grin, attempting to the kunoichi's guard down.

"Heh, that would make you the rudest person in the world. At first no one knew who you were despite being an Anbu captain, only when people started asking around in the right places and your village did they actually figure you out," the kunoichi said, "But if you insist, I don't see why not." With that, the kunoichi pulled off her hood revealing rusty locks of shoulder-length hair, piercing blue eyes, and shining alabaster skin.

"The name is Fuka," the woman purred, "And, unfortunately, I'll have to kill you. At least your special kekkei genkai will be worth it, Itachi." Still looking into her eyes, I reached for a pair of kunai. Or would've, if not for the force that kept my arms from moving. "Ku ku ku, looks like your trapped, Itachi-kun. Don't worry, though, it won't hurt at all," the kunoichi chuckled with sadistic mirth, launching herself at me with frightening speed.

"Fuck you," I muttered and activated the Mangekyo sharingan in one eye and channeling a burst of chakra through it. "Amaterasu!" I roared, a torrent of flame so black it truly resembled an absence of color. A shrill scream came from the woman engulfed in the all-devouring flame. "Looks like you aren't invulnerable after all," I murmured, feeling blood trickle down my left eye with a slight throb.

Unfortunately, as the flames disappeared, the figure revealed had not a scratch on her. "Curse you, bastard," Fuka spat, her face twisted with the remnants of pain, before dashing back at a relatively safe distance.

Noticing the discrepancy between the pain and the lack of outside injuries, the facts clicked together, reminding me of who exactly she was. "Aha! So you're the fabled kunoichi that can use all the chakra transformations, nicknamed Medusa. Well, it looks like in terms of thievery you can beat the sharingan but only if you get close enough," I said with a smug facade. Their was something about the kekkei genkai that she mentioned which was throwing me off.

"Oh, this is just rich!" Fuka cackled, apparently seeing through the mask, "You don't even know what you can do, do you? Do you honestly think its normal that a fire and wind transformation retains both qualities and that you can mix them together?"

The question struck a nerve. Of course I knew it was odd that I could do that but I just thought I was more skilled, besides when Naruto could do it I thought that it was a skill. Suddenly, I remembered the words of the weird spirit alien dude. "Oh, so that's it, huh? I have a rare kekkei genkai. Well thanks for enlightening me," I replied with a cocky grin.

Doing as I normally did, I lit my hands ablaze and coated them in a sheath of wind chakra, mixing the two natures. However, the missing piece of info having been filled in I attempted to fuse the two natures together, something I had never attempted before. As if the heat hadn't been enough before, its intensity and size of the wind-flame blades tripled, a vortex-like swirl compressing the blaze.

"Oh hell yeah..." I uttered in a rumbling voice, feeling the aura of impressive power emanating from my fists. Launching towards the redhead, I barely noticed Ayame's desperate shout. Darting my head in her direction, I caught a horrifying sight. Fuka, the _real_ Fuka, was rushing towards Ayame, whose bow lay shattered on the ground.

Knowing I wouldn't be fast enough anyways, I launched half-dozen super-heated shuriken at the redhead as she pounced on the seemingly help less brunette. Half the shuirken missed, the other half ricocheting away from the kunoichi, who dove at my girlfriend with a wind shrouded aimed at her heart. All of a sudden, a loud shriek punctuated the corridor as a streak of black rocketed at and through Fuka in a blur before impaling itself on the roof, leaving a blood trail from the punctured kunoichi, who spat blood. Her wide eyes revealed her surprise as her kunai missed its mark, stabbing Ayame in her left shoulder sans wind enhancement.

"What the -(cough cough)- was -(hack)- that (cough hack)?" the kunoichi asked in utter disbelief while spitting out blood that also flowed from her punctured stomach in a tiny crimson waterfall, quickly pooling outwards.

"Serves you right, bitch!" Ayame grunted, teeth bared in pain as she delivered a vicious kick to her assailant's head. Groping at her side, Ayame drew an unusually large-bladed kama and scrambled to her feet, panting, her left arm hanging limp at her side.

The blood that trickled down Ayame's arm and the pain she tried to hide set me off. Just as Ayame hacked at Fuka's head, the redhead's injuries disappeared. Without another thought, I pulled a kawrimi with Ayame. Just as I expected, the ground underfoot burst up, spears of rock jutting out. Having pulled off the replacement jutsu, the stalagmites crushed the rock I had changed with.

"Those Sharingan are starting to really piss me off, Itachi," Fuka growled, "And so is your pathetic bitch. Honestly, teaching someone who doesn't have an ounce of chakra taijutsu, weapon jutsu, and a rip-off of fuinjutsu is disgraceful to all shinobi."

Ayame's eyes flashed with raised and before I could stop her, she drew a straight-edged fuma shuriken and launched with full force at Fuka. "Who are you calling a bitch, you total skank!" She shouted with righteous fury. Fuka ducked under the shuriken, although the sharp inhale and small streak of blood meant it didn't exactly miss.

"You're a feisty one aren't-" Fuka threw up a rock wall just as the explosive tag exploded sending acrid fumes and a concussive blast that caused the wall to crumble, interrupting and shoving her.

Ayame threw a glance that meant 'Go for it, I've got your back'. I gave a determined grin and lit up my fists in the same kekkei genkai chakra before launching myself at the redhead, reappearing behind her for an attack impossible to dodge.

* * *

3rd person pov

Back where Naruto and Ino are fighting...

"Water Release: Water Bullet!" Ino shouted, launching a torrent of pressurized water at the pinned midget nin, Hiro, whose uniform was torn and stained in his own blood. Ino herself had more than a few nasty cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but she wasn't ready to give up. In fact, seeing her boyfriend relentlessly attack Kiso with wind and fire jutsu, was re-energizing. As such, the torrent of water that launched from Ino's mouth crashed into the midget, crushing him against the ground that buckled under the force and pressure.

Just as Ino landed, however, a small boulder of basalt rocketed from the flooded crater. At its speed, Ino couldn't dodge, leaving her to watch horror as it flew in her direction. However, rather than hitting the platinum blonde, said boulder brushed past her and collided with a certain vermilion cloaked shinobi with fatal results. Or should have. Barely catching sight of the projectile, Naruto punched the rock splintering the boulder in three parts and sent the teen skidding into the wall of the corridor.

The purple and silver sharingan still sent a chill down Ino's spine as it seemed to gaze into her soul, though the wickedly confident grin Naruto sent lifted her spirits. They would prevail no matter what because they needed to protect their precious people. Locking eyes the two teens felt their resolve brim to new heights and a collaborative attack plan coming on.

Both blondes replaced themselves with some rubble just as a lightning bolt and a fireball hit the ground they were standing on. Naruto quickly created two clones cloaked in Kurama's chakra. Before the two Jonin could react, the real Naruto quickly churned a vast amount of chakra in his right hand while the clone simply added the fire nature transformation to the spiraling sphere causing the sphere to burst into flames that took form of a fire dragon.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as the intense flames roared.

At the same time, Ino and Naruto's other clone release their jutsu. Ino's small granite boulder was shrouded in Naruto's giant yellow-vermilion-white fireball, a meteor burning in the atmosphere. The combined jutsu exploded in a blaze of flame and glowing shards of rock, drowning out the shouts of the twin shinobi who flew backwards through the air shoulder-to-shoulder, fresh cuts and burns visible on their bare chests.

As the two shinobi crashed into the ground, Naruto launched himself through the air and smashed his new jutsu into their entangled forms. The attack half pierced, half burned it's way through their midsections before the flaming dragon exploded in a giant flaming explosion that not only sent Naruto flying back but also shoved Ino a meter back despite being quite far from the blast. While the attack explode in a perfect sphere of energy and orange flame, the silhouettes of the twin seemed to be engulfed, bitten, and smashed by dragons made of white flame.

The devastation of the powerful explosion and incineration via dragon-shaped flames was all too apparent after the jutsu stopped a few seconds later. A huge swath of either wall was gone, while the huge crater was molten slag and anything within three meters of it lay charred. As for the opponents themselves, there was not a trace. Ino took the destruction in and immediately began to worry about Naruto, whose malevolent bijuu chakra cloak had disappeared. The only sound he made was a groan of pain, which would have caused Ino to race to him had she not collapsed from exhaustion and pain herself.

While Naruto's major wounds had become moderate or minor ones, the sheer number kept him from moving muscle lest his whole body writhe in even greater pain. Not only that, but he had burned through a lot of Kurama's chakra in his attacks which for some reason always took a tole on him. Ino on the other hand was the one who was in worse shape by virtue of not healing quickly. After all, she had taken a hit from a fireball and cuts and serious bruises from several different earth attacks.

Seeing that only one of his clones remained, the one that helped form his ultimate jutsu, Naruto silently commanded the shadow clone to help Ino. He wanted to scream frantically, but if he did, more pain would just envelop him. 'Kurama, step up the healing already! I need to help Ino-hime!' Naruto thought to his resident bijuu.

 **OI, SHUT THE FUCK UP! I am working as fast as I can. You did some decent work out there. You still got damaged pretty bad, but you did better than when facing Kakashi when he was trying to kill you.** Naruto just nodded at Kurama's attempt to make him feel better. He could feel and see his wounds knitting themselves up, though each second felt like an hour to the blonde.

His clone had bandaged Ino and applied disinfectant, while also using many rapid recovery seals on Ino. And since the clone was impervious to pain and didn't transmit it when dispelled, the process seemed to work quite efficiently. In a couple minutes, Ino was stable, conscious, and in a lot less pain than before, although minor injuries and a couple moderate ones still remained, similar to Naruto.

 **While I do applaud your abilities, you aren't true Jonin material yet,** Kurama rumbled through Naruto's remaining clone, **You two need to use tactics to your advantage and your opponent's weaknesses to your advantage. I believe we are very close to the storage room, so you two should complete the mission.**

"Where are Itachi-sensei and Ayame-san, Kurama-senpai?" Ino asked, worry tinging her formal tone. 'I can't seem to sense the them. I hope they aren't trouble.'

"I was wondering the same. I can't smell either of them, Kurama-san," Naruto added, his words conveying the magnitude of his fear. After all, the only time Naruto wouldn't challenge authority was when things were serious.

The clone Kurama possessed just sighed, wondering if the two lovebirds would forgive him if nothing was done to help the Uchiha and his mate. **Don't worry, they just ran into more opponents and are fighting an S-ranked one right now. They should be fine, just go finish the mission. I'll go help Itachi.** With that the clone summoned two others and each entered the one-tailed state before all three disappeared in a sprinkle of fox fur.

 **'The things I do for the kit...but I guess it's worth helping you, Naruto. Even I believe in you now. You have such great power, yet you show restraint and use it to protect your precious people or do good in the world. Keep this up and you might just earn my friendship,'** the Nine Tails thought with a grin. If there was anyone, Naruto was the one that the old geezer said would unite the shinobi world. However, Kurama would not bet his life on it, for it was far he had seen too much of the horrors, trickery, and corruption perpetrated by humanity. After all, that sage was getting senile and really old, so he could've just been making shit up. Now, though, the fox would give Naruto the benefit of the doubt and help him, his friends, and family.

That was the last thing the thought could think as he arrived at the destination only to witness a scene that shook the fabric of the fox's sanity, witnessing power he hadn't seen used for centuries.

A/N HI GUYS! COULD YOU PLZ PLZ PLZ REVIEW ON WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN. I HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR THE SCROLLS ALTHOUGH I WOULD APPRECIATE FEEDBACK AND SUCH. ALSO FEEL FREE TO PM OR REVIEW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OF THE STORY. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND PRAISE ARE EQUALLY WELCOME TO KNOW WHAT I AM DOING RIGHT AND WHAT I NEED TO CHANGE. ANYWAYS, SEE YA AND THNX FOR READING MY STORY.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

3rd person POV

Kurama skidded to a halt, wide-eyed. **'How is this possible?'** the fox thought, guiding Naruto's clone to stay in the shadows. Although his eyes saw a man that looked exactly like Itachi Uchiha, the immensely powerful and strange chakra on his fists made the fox hesitate.

That man blocked a water gun jutsu with that strange nature chakra, vaporizing the liquid before it even reached the blaze itself despite clearly including fire. A redhead kunoichi had bruises, scrapes, and burns all over her body and her eyes reflected frustrated fear as she fought the relentless Itachi-esque man.

Closing the distance to the redhead in an instant, the ravenette struck the kunoichi with a quick jab. Although the kunoichi kawarimi-ed before the strike hit her, she let out a scream of pain. "Heh, heh. Seems like you haven't figured out how to counter the kekkei genkai, Fuka. My main question is, though, why are you working for Orochimaru?"

 **'It's definitely Itachi, no question about it. But how does he have** ** _that_** **bloodline? The one that only Minato came close to unlocking in the past century,'** Kurama thought, troubled by this revelation. The Kyuubi's close proximity to Minato via Kushina allowed him to sense the ability barely dormant during the last months of the Hokage's life. Only Minato's and Itachi's common ancestor and his two sons were able to use the lost kekkei genkai in recorded history, so that Itachi awakened it was indeed a surprise.

While the fox was thinking, Fuka replied to Itachi: "Why you ask? He pays well, he gave me a purpose in life, and he saved me from certain death. That's why I am loyal to the Sanin."

Itachi just laughed. Who did this kunoichi think that guy was, an honorable criminal? "Looks like I need to explain something to you, Fuka. You don't owe him anything. On the contrary, he owes you. That albino pedophile has no honor. He only uses people," Itachi replied, launching a volley of shuriken, coating them in the unique chakra.

Fuka, hyper-aware of her opponent, dodged the shuriken with ease. 'Damn the Uchiha, what's he trying to pull?' she thought, a little shaken by his words. "And how would you know this, Itachi Uchiha?"

"Because the snake bastard betrayed his fellow teammates and turned on his own village. And, as if that wasn't enough, while with Akatsuki, he betrayed his teammate, Itachi, despite the fact that the Uchiha saved his ass multiple times," one of Naruto's clones growled as it came stepped out from the shadows behind Fuka with Kurama's and three others. Balling its hands into fists, the clone continued, "He preys on the insecure yet talented striking a deal he has no intention of going through with to serve himself. So you tell me how Orochimaru really deserves a fraction of the loyalty you give him?"

Kurama just shook his head every so slightly, amused at the boy's speech, waiting to see if Naruto would start making good on his promise.

Fuka shot her head to side, wide-eyed with surprise. "Y-you! The other person possessing the lost kekki genkai, Naruto Uzumaki, the jailer of the Kyuubi," Fuka spat in surprise. The uncertainty on her face revealed the wavering attitude she held about remaining loyal to Orochimaru. That teen's voice was just so sincere, convincing, and righteously angry that there had to be at least a smidgen of truth.

"And so, what am I supposed to do, huh? Return to my village where I face execution? Become a fugitive where I'll be hunted by everyone? At least I am more safe under him than anywhere else. He was the only one who believed in me and helped me when everyone else was against me and you're saying that I should betray that person?!" Fuka retorted with a half-hysterical bark.

"Sure his motives concerning me may be far from pure and he may only care for his interests, but it's the best of the options I have," Fuka continued, "There is something you must understand, kid, sometimes fate hands you shitty choices and you pick the best path."

Rather than excepting that, the Naruto clone's eyes flashed with much greater resolve, completely ignoring Itachi, who was now healing a crippled Ayame. "I'm sorry for what you may have faced, Fuka, but you're wrong," the clone said, approaching the kunoichi slowly and determined, "If that was true, I'd have betrayed my village. You can make your own path, Fuka. If there is anything that I learned from my experience and terrifying childhood, it's that nothing is set in stone."

As the clone told Naruto's story and came within reach, Fuka retreated back, her face expression kept shifting from uncertainty to fear to pity to regret to anger to sadness. There was an overwhelming light of hope, perseverance, and wisdom(?) that shone from the tall blonde teen. Fuka wanted to run away and accept what he said at the same time. She felt a connection with the boy that both repulsed and intrigued Fuka.

When the blonde finished, her back hit a wall of the corridor. Cornered, yet unsure whether to fight, the redhead asked the boy, "Why do you want to change and help me? I am your enemy!"

The blonde just shook his head. "No, you aren't. I can sense a light of goodness beneath the darkness. You have the potential to help people and change your life, Fuka. Just let me help you. Yes you have committed evil acts, but you can still atone for them. Let me bring you to the leaf and I'll convince the Hokage to let you become a shinobi of the village if you want," the clone said, his soft smile emphasizing the kindness in his voice. Seeing the uncertainty in the kunoichi's eyes and how she seemed to shrink, he did the only thing that came to mind.

Naruto (the clone) embraced Fuka in a warm, comforting hug like one he would use to reassure a friend. All the good-natured kindness the boy was showing towards her was just too much and she broke down in his arms. The offer that he gave coupled with the kind, comforting gesture was enough to convince her. Had she known such kindness had existed in the world, Fuka knew she wouldn't have followed the path she'd taken. After all, she faced a living, breathing person who had undergone worse than she had yet had the purest heart out of anyone she met.

Sticky tears still running down her cheeks, Fuka looked into those honest caerulean orbs and gave her affirmative answer.

 **'I didn't know you had it in you, Naruto. How you're able to do what you do is beyond my comprehension,'** Kurama thought, smiling inside. It looked like the brat wasn't ever backing down on his promise to unite the Shinobi world. To him, it was evident that Naruto could, though whether he would actually attempt it remained a mystery for the skeptical fox.

 **Itachi and Fuka meet up with the second group, I will heal up Ayame's injuries so get a move on,** Kurama said to the two S-ranked shinobi before making his way to the bleeding brunette.

The ramen chef's daughter looked up warily at the clone of Naruto that approached her. Something seemed off about it, considering the abnormal dark emotions exuded and the discolored, strange eyes. 'It has to be a henge, Naruto doesn't carry himself this way,' Ayame thought. As the strange clone approached her, Ayame drew a kodachi while launching herself back.

 **You have great instincts, little one,** Kurama said through the clone, his deep rumbling voice, **I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But don't worry, I can't really do anything as a clone that Naruto wouldn't allow.**

Ayame just nodded, not in the least concerned by this. After all, with the frequent surprising news she had heard over the past year or so, this wasn't particularly surprising. "Alright, but I thought Naruto couldn't use medical jutsu?" Ayame asked, laying down to relax as she exposed her wound.

 **He is, however, well versed in fuinjutsu and refined Itachi's emergency healing seal,** Kurama replied as the clone next to him laid a seal on Ayame and released it. Kurama noticed the smell of fresh blood and pain fading with each passing second that Ayame's deep wounds healed.

"Alright let's go," Ayame said to Kurama after her wounds had been healed and she felt almost good as new. With that, the clones and the brunette rushed towards their comrades to complete the mission, or more like shunshined to their comrades' position.

The vault that contained the scrolls themselves was giant, filled with rows of bookshelves that reached the three person tall ceiling, which had a white plaster coating similar to the walls. Moreover no one had bothered to hide the forbidden scrolls that sat on what could have been mistaken as a shrine's altar. Just a couple steps inside stood a platinum blonde, a grinning teen, a handsome yet shady ravenette, a blade-carrying brunette, and a redhead.

It had taken sometime for the group to slightly trust the aforementioned redhead, for she had attacked them, but after some convincing from Naruto they decided to let Fuka help. The redhead warned them to be on guard because none of the guards knew whether anyone guarded the inside of the vault.

"Well, that certainly reduces security risks," Itachi murmured in response to Fuka's comment, though a pinging on his senses cut him short. He felt the presence of power and chakra, but couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. In fact, the only thing he could comprehend is that the signature approached them.

"GET DOWN!" Itachi shouted loudly, pulling Ayame and Ino down with him, knowing that they wouldn't be fast enough to do anything about it. Fuka melded into the stone of a wall, while Naruto got in the way of Itachi and the kunoichi whilst flaring up a vermilion chakra cloak.

Just in time too. The next moment the ground erupted with a crack that sent shards of earth flying throughout the room, obliterating entire shelves of the library in a rain of debris and paper. In the massive hole stood a giant white snake as thick as an ash tree, while two cloaked people stood on its head.

Unphazed by the explosion or the giant snake, Naruto stood firm in the same place as before, chakra cloak active. "Orochimaru," he snarled, mismatched eyes glaring murderously at the taller figure.

"Hm? Well its nice to see you healthy and alive, Minato-san," Orochimaru asked, hissing, "But how have you cheated the Shinigami and managed to become younger."

Everyone in the room sweat-dropped at the Sanin's stupidity. "Ugh, Mr. Retarded Pedophile, you're talking to his son," Naruto retorted, speaking quite slowly as if Orochimaru wouldn't have understood otherwise.

"How dare you insult my sensei, Dobe, know your place!" the second figure spat, his voice and arrogance bearing an eerie resemblance to a certain someone. Before the figure could do anything, however, Orochimaru silenced him.

"Not yet, Sasuke-kun," the snake Sanin said, moving his arm in front of the Uchiha.

Hearing this, Itachi leaped to his feet and looked right at the face of the cloaked figure. "Otouto?" Itachi asked with incredulity, "What are you doing here?"

Ignoring Itachi's emotionally strained voice, Sasule turned to face his teacher and said "Orochimaru-sensei, please allow me to help dispatch the traitorous scum and his followers over there?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT TO ITACHI-NII!" Naruto roared, his anger boiling up into a frenzied maelstrom. Before anyone could react, he launched himself at Sasuke at his maximum speed.

The sonic boom stunned Sasuke for a fraction of a second too long, completely losing sight of the blonde. As he registered the sound, a crushing blow to his back sent paralyzing pain radiating through his back and forced the air from the Uchiha's lungs as he careened from the snake's head to the ground.

"Ku ku ku, looks like you _did_ get quite more powerful in your training and my gift, boy. Never had I thought that this would happen, though," Orochimaru hissed through a grin.

Naruto was utterly caught offguard with that statement, causing him to free mid-step. Seeing this, the snake sage thought that now would be the best time to strike.

"Hell no you don't," a pissed off Ino muttered under her breath, "Water Release: Sea Serpent Roar!" An intensely pressurized lance of hot foaming water collided with the Sanin's shoulder, ripping apart the clothing and skin while sending him flying through the air and into a fallen shelf.

Meanwhile, Naruto just stared at his chest wide-eyed at the realization that his shirt and armor was torn clean through and a long shallow cut ran along it. The golden hilted unmistakable katana lay on the motionless snake's head its gleam wicked. Suddenly, it began to rattle and shakily levitate upwards. Before it could do anything, however, Naruto rocketed forward and grabbed the legendary Sword of Kusanagi in his left hand, since his right had the other katana.

"Why you...! Give my fucking sword back you sniveling shit!" Orochimaru roared as he sprung at the blonde jinchuriki. Ripping a large boulder from the ground, Orochimaru roared "Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!" as he launched it at Naruto, hoping to crush the chunin.

'What an idiot' Naruto thought with a smirk, tracking the jutsu with the sharingan. 'Wind Release: Flying Swallow!' Naruto thought as he warped a pair of giant blades of jagged wind and fire chakra. As the rock reached the blades' range, Naruto shredded the basalt rock into three pieces, one of which crashed into the snake's head with a wet thud. Said albino snake collapsed to the ground, knocking the spiky blonde off his perch, albeit unharmed.

The snake sanin's eyebrows ticked in frustration for the smallest instant before he regained his creepy composure. "Nicely done, boy. My hypothesis was correct. It seems your abilities in all areas have grown."

"Shut up, Freak. My cousin isn't your opponent psycho, I am," Itachi growled, appearing a half dozen meters from the Sanin, his body blocking Naruto. The older Uchiha's fists were shrouded in the strange kekkei genkai.

Orochimaru hissed in muderous rage as his nemesis radiated new levels of awesomeness and power that shouldn't be possible due to his fragile condition. "So you were able to unlock that kekkei genkai. The one called Solar Release, although it was later called Dragon Release."

Itachi just shrugged. "Nice to know. Oh, and your experiment with Naruto...it was successful. He has the single most powerful sharingan since Indra (albeit only one) and the Solar Release."

"Heh, heh, heh. So that would make him more powerful than you, wouldn't it, considering the condition you had?" the albino taunted. However, the laughter from Itachi was not what he had expected, throwing him around the loop.

Rather than her boyfriend replying, Ayame jumped in. "Before you decide to attack a person make sure that you know the most recent events. Let's just say Itachi is healthier than ever," she commented offhandedly, while she prepped bolts in her repeating wrist crossbows.

"Rrgh, you will suffer!" Sasuke roared, his forehead streaming with crimson blood, a jagged piece of wood impaled in his left arm digging deeper with each movement. Eyes crazed with bloodlust and pain, Sasuke was a wild animal frothing at the mouth. Eyes drawing to Ayame, the younger Uchiha charged the brunette blurring with speed.

However, the Uchiha had to roll back just as Ino slammed her heel into the ground, executing a flying ax-kick. "Tsk tsk, Sasuke-baka, you aren't going to attack Ayame-nee without paying for it dearly."

"Bitch, get out of the way and maybe I'll fuck you," Sasuke spat, drawing his chokuto.

"Ugh, I knew it, you're just a fucking arrogant bastard. Oh, and newsflash, Naruto and I are a couple. After all, he's better looking than you, more powerful, and infinitely kinder," Ino replied, letting the comment bounce off her, "In fact, I love him more than life itself."

The ravenette, ever pissed off, picked up on the last part of the sentence. "Well, let's test that theory," he replied with psychotic glee. 'First, I'll attack Ino so Naruto'll try to save her. He'd probably sacrifice himself, then Ino would break down and I'll kill her.' With those quick thoughts, Sasuke channeled a chidori through his sword with lightning speed.

Just as he predicted, Naruto dashed to Ino. However, like last time, his sharingan barely detected a blur, so when the real Kusanagi cut through his blade, fear wracked his system. "DON'T. EVEN. TRY," Naruto spat, a catlike pupil and a purple, silver-tomoed sharingan piercing through to the Uchiha's soul. 'If he threatens the life of my friends and villagers, I have to end it. But I must try to change him'.

"Die, dobe!" Sasuke replied darkly, switching with a log before launching a hail of shuriken at the blonde.

Hearing the incoming weapons, Naruto switched with the back most shuriken, closing the gap and -before Sasuke could counter- launched three kunai at the ravenette. Nonetheless, the target just rolled under the knives and exhaled a blast of flames at Naruto.

"Wind Release: Serial Vacuum Wave!" Naruto shouted, exhaling a dozen blades of wind. Rather than canceling the jutsu, the sheer power of the attack forced the stream in on itself blowing up halfway to its target. Although half the blades dissipated, the remaining six rocketed towards the Uchiha, who could only lift his arms and minimize his surface area to keep the minimum damage from being incurred.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, all this achieved was a smattering of gashes across his arms, sides, and legs, deep enough to cause significant streams of blood to flow down his body. His cries of pain were enough to make Naruto wince, knowing just how much cuts from wind chakra hurt.

"Is that all you got?" He grunted, getting up from his kneeling position, first level curse-mark flaring to life. "This should even the odds, Fox," he sneered.

"Psh, you wish, but I could go at this all day. It'll be good exercise," Naruto yawned, lowering the amount of the Kyuubi's chakra considerably. "But if you want to fight on the same terms as before, be my guest."

The nonchalance infuriated the Uchiha heir beyond belief, destabilize his logic. What he wanted to do now more than ever was rip into that blasphemers chest with a chidori before placing one through his head. Then he would murder his traitorous brother who definitely killed his clan, since he was the only other survivor.

Naruto, noticing that Sasuke wouldn't attack first, decided to take the initiative, yet rather than try to drag this out, Naruto simply decided to go ham. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto said, spawning eleven clones. 'With six nature transformed rasengans, I should be able to defeat Sasuke quickly even if he takes out four.

"Fire Release: Rasengan!" "Wind Release: Rasengan!" the clones shouted in unison, their hands glowing with either a blazing sphere or a translucent bladed sphere of chakra. Barely a blur seen, the six clones rocketed towards Sasuke, attempting to flank him.

Catching sight of this, the Uchiha prepped a move he developed under Orochimaru, electricity quickly building up within him. 'The Chidori current should be able to take them all down without needing to move,' Sasuke thought quickly, completely unperturbed by the remaining six Naruto's in front of him. Unfortunately, just as Sasuke thought he had won, the six blondes in front of him began flipping through a quick series of seals.

"DAMN IT!" He shouted, fearing his destruction, "Lightning Release: Chidori Current!". As the teen roared, a blast of concentrated lightning expanded from his body catching five of the six clones and instantly dispelling them.

However, at that moment Naruto and the non-attacking clones let loose their jutsu, roaring: "Wind Release: Serial Vacuum Spheres!". The six streams of rapid-fire bolts of wind struck the Uchiha battering him to near unconsciousness, while fracturing bones and cutting him until his clothes were rags and his skin was more red than white.

"Sasuke, now do you see the truth?" Naruto asked almost pleadingly as the remaining rasengan clone held a fire rasengan next to his back. 'He was defeated so he should see the truth now,' Naruto thought.

'I can never let that fox brat best me. How is it possible that he out-read and out-smarted me? It's not possible! I won't lose to this child who is beneath me!' Sasuke's rage broiled as he cooked in his thoughts. 'I am not out of chakra yet and damn the consequences, I'll take this bastard child with me if it's the last thing I do!'

While Sasuke thought this, Naruto had approached Sasuke convinced that he had beaten him. After all, the man was battered to near death and slashed up badly, only someone crazy would be able to continue, and yet Naruto knew Sasuke had a lot of chakra left, about the same as him if you got rid of the curse mark and the kyuubi.

"How dare you flaunt around a sharingan like an Uchiha. You trash our name with your presence and so does Kakashi!" Sasuke growled hoarsely at Naruto charging up slowly to prevent Naruto from detecting the build up in chakra.

Naruto just shook his head sadly before steeling his face in a wicked grin. "You know, Sasuke, you should thank Orochimaru for that. It was a sealed kekkei genkai that I possessed in my DNA from my father's side, who just so happens to come from the brother of your great-great-great-great-grandfather. And guess what, Sasuke? I bet my one sharingan holds at least as much power as both of yours," Naruto goaded the ravenette.

At this point Orochimaru and Itachi had turned from each other and were watching how their students would do. Ino, despite herself, let Naruto fight while Ayame was ready to kill Sasuke because he seemed utterly rabid. Fuka, though, began noticing an increase of static energy within the area surrounding Sasuke. 'I wonder what that boy is up to?' she thought, not daring to blow her cover.

Sasuke just looked at Naruto with a murderous glare and immediately released the chidori around him as he reached full. Having noticed the murderous glare and predicted the arcs of lightning with the sharingan, yet despite his amazing speed, he still got caught by four bolts of blue electricity. Each shock made his teeth ache and his head and nervous system to burst like thousands of knives had stabbed the blonde. Numbed, when Naruto lifted his arms, they moved at a fourth their usual speed.

"Tch, of course you aren't paralyzed, but at least you are slow enough for me to see and process your movements," Sasuke grumbled, "Now its time for the real deal. Sword of Kusanagi: Chidori Katana!" Sasuke added, channeling lightning through his chokuto before launching himself at deadly speeds at Naruto despite the pain from the fractures.

Slowed down to Sasuke's speed Naruto knew what Sasuke wanted to test and he would give it to him. Channeling chakra into his heirloom, the blade burst in a fusion of wind and flame and met the stab of the lightning chokuto in a blinding flash.


End file.
